


Archaean

by Juxmouse



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Body Horror, Eventual Smut, F/F, Things are going to get weird, a stupid amount of lovecraft references, angel!Nicole, angles and demons, only took me a year to post this ha, some gore, yes nicole is a half angel thing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-04
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-11-08 19:43:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 22,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11088606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Juxmouse/pseuds/Juxmouse
Summary: "Mother, don't you see? He is waiting to be brought back to this beautiful world. And what better way to start our tour of the Earth, than to begin in this little town of Purgatory?"After Waverly's possession, it became clear that there were a few more inconveniences than just Revenants and closet monsters. But with her lineage being questioned and her purpose becoming blurred, how can she hope to help her sister take on this new form of evil? On top of that, where did Nicole come from before deciding to become a cop?Set a bit after Season 1.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I've awoken from a half-year long slumber and saw the season two trailer and nearly wanted to smash my face in my laptop. I started this around last fall, but didn't really have the gumption to post it because it's mostly filled with my stupid conspiracy theories about what the fuck is going on in the show. So I figured I'd better get this all out before the second season ends. Oh, and I warn you this is going to be heavily referenced with the Lovecraftian world. Read the Yog-Sothoth wiki page and you'll see a glimpse of why I'm mildly freaking out. I will try to make it a goal to get a chapter out at least within a week, since I've wasted a lot of brain cells on this. Enjoy!

When she would look up to the dreary sky, she would remember about how she did believe that they existed. Her concept of them deviated from the way that scribes from thousands of years ago had portrayed them. They were not creatures of innocence or compassion as many defined them. They were bringers of redemption, powerful beings that had set a path for those to follow in the name of justice. She had always believed that there was one guiding her, showing her the way of the light when her entire life had been enshrouded by darkness. 

 

Back then, she also believed that if you set more cookies and whiskey out on the table, Santa would bring you a fucking pony.

 

Waverly Earp had grown debilitated, and she was starting to think she wouldn’t be able to rid herself of this feeling of violation. On top of it all, she was completely distraught with the news of her origin. Or rather, lack thereof. 

 

The demon was gone, but it left behind a trace of itself that Waverly resented in every means manageable. It tainted her, left her feeling even more outcasted than her sister. Was this supposed to be her prophecy? Had that “Daddy” set her up to be nothing more than the taint of their own family name, a name was already soaked with betrayal and sin? She sweat blood to earn herself a reputation that was supposed to redeem her namesake, their namesake. Had everything she done for this family and the people she loved dearly equate into nothing?

 

Now the nearly twenty-two year old woman looks up at that same sky with disdain. They didn’t exist to Waverly anymore, because they were a lie. Even with unnatural forces that were massacring the innocent, they did not come to exercise their divine justice, when it should have been their duty to come and help the people of Purgatory. Wherever there is a hell, there was always a heaven to balance it. So where was God when the Devil decided to take a shit on Purgatory? 

 

Tears fell down her cheeks, while she clinged onto the bracelet that had been given to her during the awful event that was the Poker Suck-tacular. 

 

Thunder roared at the distant girl below, as if to dare her to curse the heavens a third time, the first being when Wynonna shot their father in the back and Willa was believed to have been taken and - well, Waverly didn’t want to revisit that flashback, even if her sister had nearly forced Purgatory to become the second Jonestown, only using bubbly instead of kool-aid. After everything that Willa had gone through, there was no surprise that the sister that they looked up to would become the demon that cursed their namesake.

 

“Waverly? Wave what are you doing out here?” the younger girl sniffled, trying to compose herself before turning around slowly to reveal herself fully to the person who found her. Her heart sank, knowing that she did not want her of all people to see her like this. Confession was never her strong suit, and neither was believing. Not any more that is.

 

Waverly stayed silent, her eyes drifting downward to the ground where indentations in the dirt marked where she paced excessively. Nicole could see this, and Waverly was ignorant to think that she could hide her emotions. She was more observant than any of her fellow officers. Although that wasn’t saying much, there was still an obvious gap in that awareness aspect. 

 

“Here, you’re going to catch a cold, babe,” Nicole put her coffee down before shedding off her uniform jacket and put it over Waverly’s shoulders as she noticed that the younger girl was merely wearing a light cardigan over her floral print dress. 

 

Nicole was there for the incident that occurred when they performed the exorcism of Waverly Earp. In fact, it was mostly Nicole who was able to speak to Waverly to force the demon back enough for Dolls to force it out of her. She remembered seeing the pain in Nicole’s eyes, knowing that something happened to Waverly again and she wasn’t able to be there to stop it. Waverly knew Nicole blamed herself, no matter how many times they fought about about where the fault should lie. Waverly argued that she had been too dauntless in the midst of her inquisitiveness when she touched the otherworldly matter, Nicole shot back that she should have been there to support her and her sister in the mourning period of losing Willa.

 

Nicole got on her knees to look at Waverly, who was now seated on a bench near the precinct. 

 

“Wave, why didn’t you call me? Let me know that you were out here?”

 

“I didn’t want to bother you, I know you’ve been busy with...everything.”

 

“You know that I would have come regardless. You’ve been through hell Waverly. Literally.” 

 

She couldn’t look at Nicole, not directly. Guilt stained both their hands, even though neither of them had done any wrong. Nicole didn’t blame Waverly for doing what an intellect does best, understanding the knowledge and information they encounter, even if that may include sticking your fingers in foreign liquids. Waverly in turn didn’t ridicule Nicole for doing her duty, protecting and serving the people, no matter how much she didn’t want Nicole to become involved with the mess that was the Earp curse.

 

What didn’t make sense to Waverly though, was how Nicole managed to reach her through the creature’s prison for her own mind. Wynonna had always been there to protect Waverly, but when she tried to communicate through the various methods Dolls had laid out for them, there was nothing but silence and the foreboding realization that Waverly may not make it out of this one. Then came Nicole, straight out of the hackneyed romance novels that Waverly would stay up late reading, cried out to her and her voice came clear as a summer sky. 

 

She loved Nicole, she could no longer deny that to herself, but Waverly wasn’t naive to think that it was just “true love” that managed to end the possession. There was something that Nicole had done that pushed past very dark forces, ones beyond the abstract notions of heaven and hell. Thing was, Waverly wasn’t even sure if Nicole knew the weight of what she had accomplished.

 

She had told Waverly before, it wasn’t like she had some mystical gift or anything. 

 

“Tell you what, how ‘bout you stay at my place tonight. I’ll cook you dinner, we can watch a movie and the two of us can just relax. Most of the people are now admitted to the hospital, and I got every possible statement I could out of the entire population of Purgatory,” Nicole smiled, and Waverly couldn’t help but return it. There was still something bothering her in the back of her mind about Nicole, but it wasn’t anything that would hinder the movement of their relationship. Waverly wondered if Nicole asked these same questions about herself.

 

“Besides, Nedley gave me the next few days off, since, you know, I can’t exactly run the entire Sheriff’s department of Purgatory by myself,” Waverly nodded in agreement. Nicole was the only deputy in the precinct that didn’t get poisoned at the event. Waverly had full confidence that Nicole did have the capability of being a sheriff herself one day, she also didn’t want the burden of everything that had happened to fall on Nedley’s most ambitious officer. 

 

In thinking about having Nicole involved with their family drama, reminded Waverly of what had happened that night when she thought she had nearly lost her. Of course it was none other than Willa that had been the one to pull the trigger. Waverly flinched slightly when she remembered hearing the crackling sound of the gunshot that nearly killed her girlfriend.

 

“Are you okay?” Waverly asked quietly, her hand moving down upon her chest as she looked down at Nicole’s. The officer smirked and nodded in understanding.

 

“I told you, I was only bruised. Still stings, but that’s kind of what happens when you get shot near point blank with a .44 magnum,” Nicole didn’t mean to make it sound like a joke, but she also wasn’t one to stay on the solemn side of things.

 

Waverly bit her lip, clinging onto Nicole’s jacket which was the only thing keeping her warm. Going to Nicole’s did sound nice, and she didn’t want to keep Nicole out here long either since now she was only in her button up uniform shirt and khakis. She really didn’t want to have something else to feel guilty about.

 

“I’d like that though. To stay at your place for the night,” she answered, trying to distract her mind on something different. Waverly had only been to Nicole’s once. It was brief, and a means for Waverly to get some fresh air from Willa. Nicole wasn’t just an escape though, in a way, she was the closest thing to a sanctuary that Waverly could get. Almost like-.

 

No, she dare wouldn’t think of something that insane.

 

Nicole stood and reached out her hand to offer to Waverly, who gratefully accepted. She brushed off any debris off her dress with one hand, keeping the other locked with the Nicole’s. Both of them jumped slightly as lighting cracked in the sky, and rain almost instantaneously began to poor. Waverly let out a gasp as cold rain splashed against her bare legs. 

 

“Hey, good thing I found you when I did. Come on, the car’s just in the back,” Nicole lead them to the vehicle, realizing that the rain was getting worse as they ran. Waverly was pretty certain it was retaliation from whoever had been listening to her thoughts previously. 

 

Even by the time they reached the cruiser, Waverly was near soaked, as well as Nicole. Waverly at least had Nicole’s jacket so it was only her legs that were feeling the regret of ‘why did we wear this outfit in the middle of winter?’. Nicole got the heat going once she started the car then ran a hand through dripping wet red locks as she didn’t wear her stetson or her hair up this particular day. Waverly chewed at her bottom lip at the motion while a familiar pulse ran down inside her lower abdomen. One that both of them were struggling to control.

 

As they drove, only the hushed sound of the radio kept the silence from becoming unbearable. Waverly understood that it was out of habit that Nicole kept it low and didn’t try to start up too many conversations in fear of missing something on the police box. Waverly did have a means to keep herself distracted, although as her eyes happened upon a large old church that sat overlooking the town, she winced at the memories it brought forth with it.

 

“Wave, you okay?” Nicole asked, seeing the sudden discomfort in her hazel eyes. There was no sense in trying to hide anymore, Nicole would find some way to figure them out regardless. It was her job after all, and Waverly couldn’t fault Nicole for also wanting to make sure that she was okay. Especially after being shot, nearly poisoned, and possessed by a demon. 

 

“Just, no matter how long I've lived in Purgatory, there are just things I tend to forget about, until they're right in front of me,” Waverly began to draw circles into the fogging glass, her eyes on the side mirror and the eerie building that it framed.

 

“Did you used to go to church there?” Nicole asked nodding her head towards her rear view mirror indicating that she caught on quickly to what Waverly was staring at. 

 

“When I was around four, I did. With Wynonna, Willa, and Da-....everyone,” Waverly choked down that last word that nearly emerged. Even if he were her real father, as she had been raised to believe since she could comprehend what mommy and daddy meant, saying his name or calling him that title left a bile taste in her mouth. It honestly explained a lot, especially the relationship between Willa and Wynonna - between Waverly and her supposed father. 

 

Waverly hadn't brought up the news with anyone, however she was growing unsteadily nervous to the fact that Nicole was beginning to catch on to it. She didn’t even know if it was true or if Bobo was just saying shit because he knew how to get under her skin.

 

Thankfully, another thing about Nicole that Waverly appreciated, was that she didn’t push subjects that tended to make the Earp girl uncomfortable. There was obviously something about the church that had set something off in Waverly, but although she was curious along with being concerned for Waverly’s wellbeing, Nicole chose to let the younger girl talk when she was more comfortable with the topic.

 

“Do you still go or…?” Nicole asked, testing the waters. Religion, from what Waverly had seen, was not a practice that Nicole seemed particularly fond of. She enjoyed listening and talking about other forms of it through Waverly's extensive knowledge on theology itself, but any form of Christian belief didn't hold any interest for Nicole. Despite the existence of Revenants making it obvious that there was some truth in the teachings. Hell existed, or at least that was the name they called that world by which they had bashed into people's heads for thousands of years. It was why Waverly hadn't completely lost her interest in Christian faith but rather expanded on it and many others to find connections.

 

However, it was also why she stopped believing, especially in them.

 

“I study it, mostly to find relations in my family's curse. I dedicated so much time and energy trying to find a way to break it, thinking that maybe one day it would be me to finally stop what has been haunting our lineage for over a hundred years. In the end it had to be an heir, that heir being Wynonna and for a while, Willa,” Waverly sighed, they hadn't talked about the Earp Curse because Dolls wouldn't allow her to tell Nicole or else he would personally see to her untimely resignation. At the same time, Waverly also didn't want to tell Nicole for fear of scaring her off. 

 

“This curse began with Wyatt Earp, correct? That gun that Wynonna boasts is the one that takes down these Revenants and only she can use it?” Nicole asked, to which Waverly suspected was more of the investigative side of Nicole talking. Of course she was also a cop. Waverly nodded, knowing that after the Willa incident and the exorcist fiasco, it was obvious that Nicole was now fitting the pieces of all the problems in Purgatory that involved the Earp siblings together. It would also explain events such as her kidnapping, the death of Shorty, and the bizarre murders that involved mirrors. Waverly remembered Nicole saying she was in the precinct for a week trying to write out that report.

 

“At the start I felt like it gave us purpose, like we were superheroes or guardians of some sort, but now…? I began to see why they called it a curse. Especially since our lifespans shorten by forty years,” Waverly bit her lip as she felt her chest tighten at the tangent of thoughts that began to occupy her mind. Not only because as she talked about the curse that memories of people she deeply cared about that became victims of their own involvement to this family plague, but also because she started to think more heavily of her own history and how it felt like one massive joke.

 

The unmitigated chaos of fear and doubts in her head began to fade once she felt the familiar touch of Nicole's hand on her thigh. She was still watching the road, but Waverly could tell that Nicole was in fact trying her best to stay involved with talking about Waverly's trivial past. Something nobody else really gave two shits about.

 

“Hey, as cheesy as this may sound, I still think you're quite the hero. Heir or not, understand that you're more than just a title, Wave. And I'm not just sayin’ that because I'm biased.”

 

Waverly let a smile tug at her lips from Nicole's unbearable charm. 

 

“You really aren't just saying that to make me feel better right?”

 

“Look, I can't fathom a lot of the stuff that's happening and I'm pretty certain I've learned enough that would make a normal human beings’ head spontaneously combust from just the density of information I've had to consume in a short amount of time,” Nicole paused as she pulled over into the nearest convenience store to which Waverly figured she was either getting gas or picking something up. 

 

“But please know, Wave, that I'm not going to sit at the sidelines anymore, trying to figure what insane shenanigans you and your sister got into that would result in you getting shot and your sister in multiple case involvements that end up getting shoved under the rug whenever I get put on them,” Waverly didn't feel great about having to hide all of her secrets from Nicole. That was even an understatement, but now she didn't have to keep these things away from her. However, now she was worried that incidents like the one where Willa had shot Nicole without so much as a wink of empathy were going to happen more frequently. Waverly at this point could not bear to think that she was losing Nicole again. 

 

She didn't think her heart could bear having to go to another funeral.

 

“I know that you aren't Nic, but… I'm scared, and I don't...I can't lose you too,” her voice was shaking and her head turned away in embarrassment at her sudden fear. It seemed like that was all she could do these days was just cry in her own self pity. This wasn't how the Waverly Earp should behave.

 

“I'm not going anywhere, babe,” Nicole lifted Waverly's chin to see tear stained eyes, which in turn caused the redhead to frown with concern. “I’m right here and you're stuck with me, whether you like it or not,” she gently kissed Waverly's forehead, but before she could pull away too far, Waverly shot up and captured Nicole's lips with her own, causing the officer to grunt in response. Waverly’s hands moved to Nicole’s neck out of habit, while Nicole deepened the kiss by tracing Waverly’s upper lip with her tongue. The brunette whimpered out of need and she allowed Nicole access to her mouth. Waverly smiled into the kiss as droplets of water from Nicole's hair dripped onto her cheek. She was losing herself and didn't care that they were in the police cruiser and in front of a public setting.

 

Unfortunately, Nicole did. Their connection was cut short, despite Waverly's small sounds of protest. Nicole pulled away when she noticed someone at the corner of her eye, but luckily they were too attached to their phone screen to care about their surroundings. Waverly knew she was playing a dangerous game, since they were going to be at Nicole’s for the next couple of days, alone. They both decided it was best to save getting too caught up with each other until they reached Nicole’s house, so they got out of the cruiser to pick up what Nicole needed from the store.

 

“I ran out of coffee so this won’t take long,” Nicole stated, her voice struggling to keep a normal pitch after their intimacy. Waverly initially planned on staying in the car, but decided to follow Nicole inside in case she wanted to get something as well.

 

“Have you eaten today?” Waverly asked sternly, balancing the unevenness in her own tone. Nicole let out a nervous chuckle while she scratched the back of her neck, realizing that she was probably going to get scolded again.

 

“I haven’t had time to make anything because of all the reports I had to file. I’ll make something when we get to my place,” she explained.

 

“Oh no you don’t, you’ve worked non-stop the last couple days. You need rest. Besides, it’s the least I can do for you since you’re hosting tonight,” Waverly smirked. Nicole raised her hands up in mock surrender and grinned, knowing that she had already lost the argument before they even began.

 

They were only in the store for a few minutes, grabbing what they needed and talking about this and that, but tried to keep the pace fast since the uncomfortable silence was starting to unnerve the two. There was quiet music playing in the background, but it was the type of backwater slow country that made the entire atmosphere of the place seem dreary and somber. Waverly didn’t feel comfortable with the cashier at all either, since they used to go to the same high school as Waverly, but ended up dropping out due to getting caught up in Bobo Del Rey’s little group. 

 

Nicole raised a brow to the girl smoking at the register, reading some rumor magazine that was sitting on the steel rack next to her. She hardly paid any notice to the two women until Nicole dropped the coffee tin on the counter. Once she noticed that Nicole was standing there and that she was in fact a cop, she jumped and quickly put her cigarette out on the edge of the counter and shoved the magazine to the side.

 

“Will that be all?” she stumbled a bit with her words, but still managed to keep some attitude in her tone. She obviously recognized Waverly, and there was a slight twinge in her lips that strained to keep her mouth shut, yet she kept her quips to herself. She watched as Waverly had also picked up a package of cookies and a bag of chips for the night in case they just watched a random television show or popped in a movie on the couch. The cashier still kept her usual comments to herself though, which she normally wouldn’t if it was Wynonna with Waverly instead of Nicole. Something about being a cop often kept the nastier folk of Purgatory at bay.

 

It was nice in a way, not having to hear every ten feet she walked that she was that Earp sister or got hit on by every single male being that crossed paths with her. Although she didn’t want to think of Nicole as her unintentional body guard, she’d be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy it every now and then, and she could tell that Nicole had fun with it as well.

 

“Yeah, and just ten bucks at pump three, please,” Nicole handed the woman the cash out of her pocket. 

 

Once Nicole was handed her change and the bag of items that they purchased, the pair hurried out of the store to avoid any more awkward scenarios. Waverly sighed as she leaned against the car while Nicole filled up the gas tank. The brunette’s eyes wandered off towards a flickering light that lit up in the distance. It was from that same cumbersome church that she had spoken to Nicole about.

 

There were dim lights shining through the windows that weren’t on when they passed by it earlier. Not only that but nobody goes to church at this hour. Unless it was somehow connected to that cultish commune that Wynonna found Willa at, Waverly had her doubts that there was anything but normal saintly activities happening at that church.

 

“Nicole...do you know if the Reverend is still recovering from the party?” Waverly asked quietly, still staring off as another light flickered on in the windows.

 

“Yeah, I think he actually consumed more than Nedley did. Good to know the priests around here still know how to have a good time,” Nicole added sarcastically and put the gas nozzle back on the holder. “Why…?” she was about to finish that question, but Nicole also looked off in the same direction as Waverly and noticed those same lights.

 

“I don’t recall the people of Purgatory being particularly fond of church service during bar hours…” 

 

“They aren't, which really makes me curious to as why anyone would be there. Father Harrington is the only one who lives there...and he never married either,” Waverly was trying to hint to Nicole that this wasn’t usual. Whether or not Nicole decided to investigate it was going to really be up to her. With the rising of this “elder one” Waverly was concerned that there were more hellish creatures besides the Revenants that were going to cause grief in this already broken town. After being corrupted and possessed, Waverly didn’t want that to happen to anyone else either.

 

“Call Wynonna, I’ll knock on the door and see if anyone answers, but I don’t want to go inside without backup,” Nicole shivered and Waverly wasn’t sure if it was because she was cold or if it was the thought of going to that church alone. They were heading blindly into something that they weren’t certain of. It could be anything, but here in Purgatory, anything usually resulted in something of nightmarish proportions. She took her phone out and tried to get in contact with her sister, but the line would go straight to voicemail. Frustrated after the third time of trying to call, she ended up shooting Wynonna a text.

 

From what she could remember of the building, the two lights that were showing were in the main hall where the sermons were held, and the other light that just came on was from a room that connected to the stairway up to the steeple. These weren’t on when they had driven by the first time, and now, it was obvious that someone or something was now occupying the church. Waverly couldn’t help the chill from crawling up her spine as Nicole pulled to the front parking space and checked the magazine in her gun to make sure it was still loaded. Waverly could see that Nicole didn’t have much hope that it was going to be of much use if this was another paranormal encounter. After now having a few experiences under her belt, she knew that it was only Peacemaker that could put down the supernatural beings of Purgatory.

 

“I’m going with you,” Waverly said sternly as Nicole opened her door. She was half expecting Nicole to object, but instead was given a hesitant nod, to which she figured was because Nicole didn’t want to sit in the car for an hour arguing on why that was a bad idea.

 

“Stay behind me, and if you see anything we’re getting back in the car and getting the hell away from here until Wynonna and the guys can meet up with us, do you understand?” the officer stated. There was no argument from Waverly. Nicole was going into full cop-mode which meant that it was in Waverly’s best interest to remain diligent to her instructions. 

 

As they walked up to the large double doors to the church, Waverly prayed, as cynical as that was, that if this situation did have to be anything bad, that it was just Revenants running amok on the house of God, now that their fearless leader was shoved back into hell. If that was the case, then they would have the means to hold them off until help arrived. Thankfully, Wynonna was more attentive to her phone and Waverly’s texts after the exorcism incident.

 

Or so she thought.

 

Nicole took in a breath before her knuckles knocked against the worn oak door, waiting patiently before she would knock again, and then a third time.

 

“This is the Purgatory Sheriff’s Department, please open the door,” Nicole raised her voice. There was a pause before the two women could hear rhythmic sounds of footsteps coming towards the door. They stopped, and Nicole backed away, with one hand instinctively raising up in front of Waverly and the other going to her 9-millimeter glock. They waited, but they could no longer hear anyone coming towards the door. 

 

Waverly’s chest tightened in anticipation, but she remained calm with seeing Nicole keeping her stance solid. She didn’t realize though just how much this situation had Nicole terrified for both of them, especially now knowing that there was most definitely someone inside. After waiting five minutes for someone to answer, it was clear that their suspicions were correct.

 

“H....Help…” 

 

Nicole swallowed, and Waverly had her worst fears confirmed. It was a woman’s voice that could barely be heard through the doors, and it made it harder for Nicole to assess what her next move should be. Nicole had only been involved in one hostage affair and although the result was out of her control, the outcome was not one she wanted to have happen again if she was on call for another.

 

“Nic…” Waverly whispered quietly. She hated sounding desperate, but she also didn’t want someone to suffer while they were a few feet away. Worst of all, this could very well be a trap, and both of them knew it. 

 

“...Please…” the voice croaked out again.

 

This time, Nicole banged on the door with a full fist. 

 

“Whoever is in there, open this door, or I will be forced kick it down,” Nicole commanded. 

 

Silence.

 

“Shit…” Nicole shook her head and took only a few steps back to prepare for her next and most consequential action. 

 

“Waverly, if anything happens, you run,” Nicole didn’t let Waverly dispute her demands as she reared back and smashed her foot into the church door, causing it to break open instantly with some help of the rotted wood. Her gun was up and Nicole quickly entered the building while Waverly hunkered down next to the door in case gun fire did in fact begin. Anxiety shook her very being, and her heart ached with helplessness while Nicole stood in the front line of whatever may be waiting for them inside. She felt tears sting at her eyes as she wished more than anything that at this moment, she could be the heir regardless if she wasn’t an Earp or not. At least she would be able to fucking do something. 

 

Waverly kept on the lookout as Nicole had instructed and when she could see no sign of anyone outside to instigate a counter move. She peered inside the building, where she could see Nicole was already stopped halfway in the lighted church, and a woman draped in only white sheets hanging pathetically on a wooden wheel-like sculpture. Although the cloth was hiding a majority of her body, Waverly could see that each of her limbs were nailed to the rims of the object. One at her palms and feet, the second near her elbows and knees, and the third through the shoulders and thighs.

 

Revenants were not this creative with their murders.

 

“Oh my god…” 

 

“M’am? Ma’m if you can hear me, I’m going to get you down okay?” Nicole said, and Waverly could hear her words being stressed as she continued to move closer, her arms still steady as her gun pointed at the woman. Nicole was wondering how in the hell she was even going to begin to try and unpin the woman’s body from the piece without causing severe blood loss and trauma to her.

 

“Stay with me, come on…” Nicole edged closer, noticing that the woman was no longer moving, or breathing for that matter. Waverly began walking towards Nicole, remembering where all the entrances were to the building which gave them somewhat of an advantage since the layout hadn’t changed at all in the past eighteen years. She had to think of something positive, as it was the only thing that was going to keep her sane. 

 

Both of them stopped immediately what they were doing when they suddenly heard a small giggle escape the woman’s near lifeless body. 

 

“Waverly, go!” Nicole shouted out instantly. 

 

The body started to convulse violently and it began to pull it’s limbs from their restraints.

 

Waverly spared no time when she heard the order, but as she ran towards the back of the church, the doors shut. 

 

“Get down!” 

 

Waverly dropped to the floor without a second thought as three nails from one of the limbs shot out and pinned themselves through a large wooden block that swung down to lock it and the double doors together. She got up unscathed, but turned to see Nicole gripping onto her left shoulder, as she couldn’t dodge one of the three projectiles fast enough.

 

“Nicole!” Waverly cried out. 

 

Nicole quickly looked behind her to see that there was no going out the same way they came in, and now they were both facing the predicament that was the woman suddenly becoming animated in a very unnatural form. 

 

Waverly was certain that she wouldn’t call it a human anymore.

 

“Oh how the master does treat me tonight. The Prophet, he gifts to me…” the voice cracked as it stretched out its unbinded arm towards Waverly. “Your soul will taste most sweet, dear Prophet.”

 

“You will not lay a finger on her!” Nicole snapped, teeth gritting in warning towards the creature. She fired once with no hesitation, but both of them knew that it wasn’t going to be enough. It did however, give Nicole time to gain some distance from the monster, finding her way to Waverly as it screeched in agony when the bullet passed through it’s skull. 

 

“Now is a great time to tell me if you remember if any of these doors happens to be a convenient exit,” Nicole inhaled painfully as she held her now bloodied arm. 

 

“If we can get to that second door on the left, it leads to the kitchenette, that’s the only other exit we have.”

 

“Well if it can feel pain, then I can keep shooting it to give you enough time to get there.”

 

Waverly gripped onto Nicole’s shirt. “I’m not leaving here without you Nicole.”

 

“It wants you Waverly, and I’m not going to let that happen,” Nicole argued back.

 

“And I’m not going to let you sacrifice yourself for me!” 

 

Nicole winced at that, and Waverly knew she was already blaming herself for going inside this place when she specifically said in the car prior that she wasn’t unless she had the back-up. They just didn’t think there would be someone that they thought would be in peril, that just also happened to be a converted creature from hell or god knows where.

 

That’s how it always seemed to happen though.

 

Sweat dropped from Nicole’s face as now she was becoming frantic to find a solution to this mess. Three more nails launched towards the two women, but both dropped down and avoided being hit this time. Nicole groaned in pain as she used her bad arm to get herself back on her feet. Waverly pulled Nicole up, trying to help her move without having to use her arm as a support for long.

 

“Start moving. Now. Go!” the officer shouted as both of them ran towards the door Waverly mentioned.

 

The creature made a strange chattering noise out of irritation and gave up using anymore energy on the nail technique and just ripped its legs from being attached from the wood to now begin closing the distance between its prey. 

 

“Legion will rise, and it will be the Hollowed Ones to bring the Prophet to him,” it hissed.

 

“Stop calling me that you ugly piece of shit!” Waverly shouted angrily. That was probably a mistake to call it that because the creature squealed in annoyance and began to crawl faster towards them.

 

“Less name calling more running, babe,” Nicole maneuvered behind Waverly to get in between her and the monster as she shot off two more rounds into the now disfigured womanly form. Howling in anguish again, it tried to not let the bullets hinder its movements a second time as it now moved at a steady pace to continue closing in the gap.

 

“Shit…” 

 

Before Waverly could turn around to see what was happening, Nicole shoved her out of the way the moment the creature dashed towards them at full speed. There was no time for Nicole to react the moment she registered that she was now its primary target. It knocked Nicole through the door, breaking it on impact. Waverly could only take a quick glance to notice Nicole’s body unmoving in the kitchenette.

 

Waverly stood in utter shock, the dread and fear coming back to her like deja vu as she stared at the officer’s still form laying on the floor.

 

The grotesque being stood in between her and Nicole, its human features twisted into a cruel sneer, unmasking the bloodstained and decayed teeth, as it began to crawl towards Waverly. All she could do was shout obscenities at the creature, tears streamed down her face as her emotions were in overdrive and in complete control over her body. She threw whatever objects she could find, holy bibles, broken wood, anything to slow the creature down. Waverly knew it was a useless feat, but she continued to scream and fight regardless.

 

Waverly’s voice collapsed on itself as cold hands clenched around her neck, cutting off her ability to breath. The creature cackled in triumph and its hold tightened, even as Waverly scratched and tore into the skin of it’s arms in attempts to free herself from the vicegrip around her throat. 

 

“So young...so fresh…” its words began to fade in and out as Waverly could feel her vision began to dim and her hearing blurred. She was losing too much air, and her mind was beginning to give up due to the loss of oxygen that it desperately needed. The girl tried to manage out one final word, the name of the woman she loved, now believing that this truly may be no come back from this for either of them.

 

There was a flash of light, and although her senses were becoming dull, Waverly heard a shout before she felt the creature’s grip loosen enough for her lungs to intake the air they craved.

 

“I told you, you will not lay a finger on her!” 

 

The weight upon her was gone, but she could feel her mind go into free fall mode. She thought she saw Nicole, and a strange stream of white light, but her vision was clouding, as she had gone for far too long without air to keep up with her consciousness. Everything was seemingly distant to her, and almost as if it was in slow motion. There was screaming and for a faint moment she thought she could smell burning flesh. Waverly couldn’t make the connection at her current state, and she could begin to feel her mind begin to blackout.

 

“Nic...Nic…” she tried to speak.

 

Her mind seemed to give up just as the entire church became eerily silent. The monster’s screams had ended, and only heavy breathing echoed in her ears as Waverly shut her eyes.

 

“Waverly…”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the mild delay, bought a house and a puppy so I haven't even had time to just sit and watch the second season. But here you all go anyway!

The air in the church was frigid. There was no sound to be heard, except for the creaking of old wood rubbing against each other and broken pieces hitting the floor as they eventually fell off from where the altercation hit them the hardest. A frigid draft was what brought life back into Waverly. Her vision was blurry still and her body shook from both lack of energy and the cold. She coughed, wincing at the pain around her neck and it didn’t take long before she remembered how she got it. 

 

She remembered something even more crucial at that moment.

 

“Nicole?” she called out weakly. Her head pounded heavily and she still dizzy as her body took it’s sweet time to get adjusted again. She saw the broken door and her heart sank.

 

“Nicole!” she struggled with getting her feet to cooperate with her desperate mind, but once she finally did and managed to get a glimpse inside, Nicole wasn't there. Waverly dropped to her knees, her thoughts burning through every situation she could think of, and none of them were turning to her favor. Tears once again spilled from her eyes as utter defeat claimed the girl. She should have never questioned coming here. Nicole would still be here and they would just be sitting on her stupid couch happy and warm and...

 

Waverly punched the wood, crying out up towards the ceiling of the church as if she knew exactly who to blame for this. Once again, they left everything to go to shit. She cursed them, cursed them for doing absolutely nothing to save the innocent from this disaster, cursed them for every bad thing that happened in Purgatory, there was always someone who met their end wrongfully. Did they not want her to feel compassion? Love for another and to be loved back? This wasn't protection anymore, it was punishment. 

 

Waverly sat on the floor a grieved for what seemed like hours, not caring at this point if that creature came back to finish the work it started. She began to replay the events of the night through her mind, unable to keep her thoughts at bay.

 

Prophet. That was the name it gave to her without thinking anything of it, and it was for that sole reason that it attacked. 

 

It became apparent to her that it truly was her fault that this happened. She convinced Nicole that they should come. Instead of helping anyone though, she lost another person she loved, and she never got to admit that openly to her.

 

Waverly was about to release her anger and grief on the wooden frame again when the breeze picked up something off the floor and in Waverly's line of sight. The girl sniffled as she reached down to pick up the object, giving it an inquisitive look until she figured out what it was. An abnormally large feather. At least, that's what it looked like to her, but it was slightly bloody, and the tips were singed which they appeared recent.

 

Then it hit her, flashbacks of various scenes from the night scrolled in her mind. She heard Nicole just before she was rendered unconscious by the creature, and it was Nicole that prevented it from killing her.

 

Waverly began to retrace her steps, trying to remember where she was when the creature got to her and began to follow by trajectory where Nicole could have gone after tackling the monster from the kitchenette. Not only that, but the closer she felt she was getting, more of the feathers laid out like breadcrumbs to lead Waverly to the only person who could make her feel these unmitigated emotions. 

 

Nicole was indeed lying right where Waverly had established she would be. The brunette scrambled to the unconscious officer, trying to coax her awake by stroking her head and talking to her softly.

 

“Nicole baby, please, please get up…” Waverly's body trembled, but when she moved her hand down to Nicole's neck, relief washed over her as a pulse was present. Her eyes wandered around Nicole's body, noting the strange accumulation of those same feathers surrounding the officer. What really caught her attention though was the bleeding wound in Nicole's left arm from the nail that tore through her flesh.

 

“Nicole come on, you have to get up,” Waverly tried again, and this time there was movement. Nicole's body shifted slowly, and her features creased before her eyes began to open gradually. The building was still dark, lit only by a few candles on the preacher’s podium.

 

“Hey…” her voice was hoarse, but Waverly didn't care. She was alive and somewhat functional, that was a start. Waverly couldn't describe the flood of solace that brought to her.

 

“Wave...I'm sorry I…”

 

“Shhh...don't babe, you've lost a lot of blood...you need to relax, please,” Waverly stated softly, combing her fingers through Nicole's tousled red locks. 

 

“No we...we need to get out of here,” Nicole was regaining consciousness a lot quicker than Waverly did, and the she wasn't sure if that was due to some after effects of adrenaline or just Nicole being more accustomed to these types of circumstances than her.

 

When she tried to pick herself up, Nicole groaned in pain before lying back down on the floor. 

 

“Fuck, it must have caught my back pretty good,” she said while trying to keep her bad arm clutched to her side.

 

“Here let me take a look,” Waverly requested as she helped Nicole up. At first glance, Waverly could see the entire back to Nicole’s uniform split and torn, but when she pulled strips of fabric aside, Waverly froze.

 

Behind her uniform revealed two large, freshly open scabs that aligned perfectly with her shoulder blades and ran down along her backside. Blood oozed through the wounds and areas around the opening looked burnt. Waverly could only stare, mortified as she was beginning to understand how Nicole survived and saved her in the process.

 

She didn't want to piece the evidence together, but her mind instantly went towards her assumption out of instinct. It was, after all, in Waverly's nature to find every underlying detail in her research. From where it stands, Nicole was now not only her girlfriend, but her field of study.

 

“No…” Waverly swallowed before finding a feather to pick up and show to Nicole. “Do you recognize these,” she wanted to feel bad for the rising anger in her voice, but the hate that had been building within her for years was now finding its outlet.

 

Nicole winced, but took the feather of Waverly's hand to inspect it. Confusion was written all over Nicole's face, Waverly saw that, but a good percentage of her wasn't buying that Nicole had no idea what it was. The wounded woman then began to look around the floor seeing that there were quite a few of these same feathers lying on the ground. They weren't from any bird, unless there were some giant ass birds in Purgatory that she had never seen before.

 

“Where did they come from?” Nicole asked, picking up another to compare it with the one Waverly handed to her.

 

“I don't know you tell me, they belong to you.”

 

“Wave, I don’t...ah…fuck,” Nicole tried to understand what Waverly was about, but the stress of her movements caused her to grit her teeth, pain evident in her tired features.

 

Waverly was trying not to become hysterical, but the tears continued to fall only this time for another reason. Still, she managed to collect herself somewhat, the love in her heart trying to reason with the pain that had haunted her since she was a child. The abandonment and betrayal she felt for them leaving her behind was a scar that cut deep in Waverly Earp. 

 

Nicole was one of them, and there was no other explanation for it.

 

Nicole was an Angel. 

 

“You have two lesions on your back, and it’s like you were burned severely around both wounds,” Waverly choked out. “I...saw something, or at least I thought I saw you when you saved me from it. Nicole...who are you?” she pleaded in hopes of getting answers from Nicole, hopes of getting the truth of what and who she was. 

 

Nicole though, had a perplexed look about her. Waverly couldn’t see anger in her eyes for the weight of Waverly’s words, but rather devastation. She remained silent, unable to figure out a way to give the answer that Waverly wanted. No matter how she responded it was a double edged sword, and Nicole didn't want to upset Waverly more than the girl already was.

 

“We need to go…” Nicole finally spoke, her voice hoarse and bitter as she tried to pick herself up. Watching Nicole struggle with trying to get back up on her feet, and the tormented look in her eyes that made Waverly realized what she was doing was wrong. Regardless of what or who Nicole was, there was no clear sign that she had any idea what Waverly was talking about. She felt like a hypocrite for one, as she herself kept secrets from Nicole that she knew would probably gain a similar reaction to what was happening vice versa. Her chest ached as she tried to quickly help the officer up, taking off the police jacket and laying it over Nicole’s exposed back to protect her from the cold. Waverly then put Nicole’s arm around her shoulder in an attempt to provide support. 

 

“Hey, easy baby, I’ve got you,” Waverly ushered. Nicole was slow at first, but as they kept progressing down the aisle, the more able she was to keep steady. When they reached close to the exit in the kitchenette, Waverly looked down to the side next to one of the pews when rising smoke caught her attention, only to see the creature completely disfigured and scorched beyond recognition.

 

“Oh god…” 

 

She turned to Nicole who looked away and hung her head before urging Waverly to continue moving. 

 

“Nicole, we have to get you to a hospital,” Waverly tried to make up for her lack of compassion earlier, though part of her could see that the damage had already been done. Nicole shook her head and kept moving, even if Waverly had stopped.

 

Why did she have to be so ignorant? Waverly didn’t even think about how Nicole risked her life to not only save her but also the woman they thought was in danger, and what did she do? She questioned Nicole’s honesty and challenged her existence, two things that never she would have done before because Nicole wouldn’t lie about either of those things. Again, her honesty for Christ’s sake. 

 

“Nic…” she tried again.

 

“Just get us home Wave. The hospital is still full from the people still paranoid about Bobo’s poison giving them lifelong side effects, and I’m not becoming another burden on someone else’s shoulder. No pun intended…” Nicole tried to smile, and Waverly could only succumb to more tears at just how collected Nicole was, even after Waverly had said what she did and how beat down she was.

 

“Home it is then.”

 

They got to the cruiser, the church looked completely untouched from the outside and it looked like there was no one that responded to the commotion that should have had the entire sheriff’s department there. Worse yet, there was no sign of Wynonna, even though Waverly had texted and called her multiple times before they breached the church. Either she had gotten caught up in something that couldn’t be avoided or she just never got the messages. 

 

Waverly managed to help Nicole get into the passenger seat as she was damn sure she was not going to let Nicole drive in her state. It was a painful position for the officer, Waverly knew that would be the case, but she couldn’t let her lay in the back of the car without some form of restraint. She just wanted to get to Nicole’s place as soon as possible so she could get some gauze and alcohol on her lacerations. The bleeding may have slowed, but if she lost any more blood, then Waverly would have no choice but to hunt down Dolls and try to find an illegal means of obtaining Nicole’s blood type and a bag of that particular blood.

 

Once Waverly had gotten in, she quickly started up the engine and put the car into drive, not wanting to waste anymore time than they already had. Nicole was getting paler, more so than she already was, and Waverly worried that she was going to pass out again before she could get her someplace safer.

 

“Nicole, baby, stay with me,” Waverly coaxed the officer back awake. Nicole groaned, but blinked furiously to coerce her eyes to remain focused while also trying to keep conscious. 

 

“There are bandages and alcohol under the bathroom sink,” Nicole managed out while also trying to adjust in her seat. “Though if you would be so kind as to let me have ten shots of scotch before you put any of that shit on my back,” Nicole grinned weakly. Waverly laughed lightly and rubbed away some of the stray tears from her eyes.

 

“I’ve done something worse than yell at you and you’re still the one trying to make me feel better,” Waverly confessed.

 

“To be fair a lot of shit hit the fan. We’ll figure it out when we get back to the house, which shouldn’t take to long since it’s just down this road,” Nicole pointed out.

 

Her place was just a small cabin out on the other side of town from the homestead. It was convenient because nobody else lived out here besides her, nullifying the possibility of nosey neighbors from trying to understand why an ex-barmaid was driving a police cruiser with an injured officer.

 

Waverly pulled up into the driveway then scrambled out of the car to quickly help Nicole get back on her feet and into the house. It was hard, but thankfully Nicole only had about three keys on her person, making getting in and Nicole situated easier so Waverly could go look for all material needed to clean up her wounds.

 

“You remembered the scotch right?” Nicole asked nervously, but sighed in relief when Waverly displayed the bottle in all its glory.

 

“This is going to hurt regardless of the booze, but bear with me okay?” 

 

“You’re the boss,” Nicole prepared for the worst as Waverly helped strip the uniform off. She paused and her brows creased in confusion as she saw that the lacerations on her back were almost completely closed, leaving only massive scars where the wound used to be. 

 

“How…?” Waverly had Nicole then lift her arm to see that the gash was still there as to be expected. 

 

“I’m not going to become a grotesque hell spawn am I?” Nicole tried to remain positive about her situation.

 

“No I don’t think that’s going to happen but...those wounds on your back...they’re practically healed. Does it still hurt?” Waverly traced the tissue along Nicole’s shoulder blades gently, paying attention closely to any pain that it might inflict.

 

“It still feels...odd, but no, it doesn’t,” Nicole strained her back slightly, “It’s like there’s something there, but it doesn’t hurt like it did before.”

 

“I still recommend taking those shots while I fix your arm, you’re still losing blood from that,” Waverly estimated out a decent amount of scotch into a glass and handed it to Nicole, who chugged it down in mere seconds. 

 

“Okay, fix me up doc,” she grimaced from both the burn of the alcohol down her throat as well as the preparation for the real pain that rubbing alcohol was going to inflict upon her. “Boy howdy is this going to suck.”

 

Waverly didn’t provide a countdown and instead applied the fluid to Nicole’s arm without hesitation. Nicole bit down on a towel that Waverly had handed to her moments before she did this, trying to muffle her cries as Waverly dabbed more alcohol onto the gash. The stinging was going to linger for quite some time, but Waverly knew that the worst part of this process was over. She wrapped the gauze and tape around the sterilized wound and provided a small kiss on the side of Nicole’s temple as a reward for being the trooper that she was.

 

“It’s over babe, it’s over,” she soothed the officer’s discomfort. Nicole’s breathing was becoming more steady and her heart rate returned to a normal rhythm.

 

They remained seated on the couch, Nicole rested quietly while Waverly made sure that nothing else happened to her so she could retain some of her strength and energy. There were still concerns, especially since she wasn’t certain if the nails that Nicole was struck with contained any hexes or curses that would inflict either possession or diseases that could render Nicole dead in an instant. Every second was a nervous tick for Waverly, but after minutes became hours, she was hoping that that was a good sign that nothing else ill fated would befall Nicole.

 

To pass the time, Waverly couldn’t help but pull her phone out and begin digging through a few select documents and articles she could access from her computer through her cloud. She tried to find any connection to what occurred in the church as well as any history or existence of divine beings in Purgatory’s past. 

 

An archangel or fallen angel were the only terms that Waverly could come up with that may explain why Nicole was here and couldn’t remember why she was. Problem was, it just didn’t fit Nicole’s personality at all. Violent, rebellious, vengeful. These were not adjectives that described the carefree woman at all. Of course there was the possibility that Nicole was indeed keeping all of these a secret for both her sake and Waverly’s, but she just couldn’t imagine that, even if she did accuse Nicole of these things just moments ago.

 

“I honestly don’t know…”

 

Waverly lifted her head off of Nicole’s better shoulder when she heard her girlfriend speak up suddenly. Nicole was watching the younger girl swipe through the text on her phone, seemingly more aware and obviously interested in what Waverly was looking through. Which was understandable given her condition.

 

“Babe, don’t...We can talk to Dolls about it when you’re ready. I know I didn’t help, but I’m more relieved than anything that you’re still here with me.” 

 

“Dare I ask why it upset you so much?” Nicole asked hesitantly. Waverly nodded calmly, now able assess the situation enough to have a discussion about it. She took a deep breath, knowing this wasn't going to be brief.

 

“Around the same time we went to church, I believed that there was someone, or something was watching over me and my family. In fact, sometimes I believed that I was talking to them. Because I was so young and imaginative, I began to claim that who was with me was my own Guardian Angel. Corny, I know, but I truly did think that was who kept me safe. I almost got hit by a car when I turned six, but the driver said that the wheel suddenly jerked with no explanation to as how or why, and it swerved to hit a tree instead. When Willa would blackmail me into doing something dangerous, I always felt something guiding me. At least, that’s what I had chosen to believe,” She saw Nicole was listening closely, bloodshot eyes were still remaining focused on Waverly, so she tried gather up what courage she had to continue.

 

“When the homestead was attacked, Willa was taken and my...father was shot and killed by Wynonna. Whoever I had believed in would come save us from that nightmare of a night, never did. I prayed in the closet I hid in, pleaded with them, I tried everything I thought would bring them to help us. They didn’t. As a child, I was heartbroken and devastated, but as I got older and more awful things started happening in Purgatory, especially after Shorty and my Uncle Curtis, I forced myself to hate the thought or idea that I had believed that a guardian angel was watching me, because they did nothing to stop the people I loved from dying or leaving,” She paused as she felt Nicole’s hand gently rub away some of the tears that began to fall. “Not only that, but not only did I think I was talking to who I thought was my guardian at the time, but I also found out that I was speaking to Bobo, who had tricked me into burying a charm that was protecting my family and the land we lived on. I began to blame my guardian, because I didn’t want to admit to myself that I had put everyone in danger,” Never had Waverly spoken of this to anyone, and here she was, opening up every crevice that hid away these emotions for years, exposing them all to Nicole.

 

She wouldn’t want anyone else to hear any of this but her.

 

“And you think...that that’s what I might be? That guardian?” Nicole struggled with the question. Waverly didn’t want to immediately go to that assumption, for there were still unanswered questions that she herself had in regards to what happened with Nicole.

 

“That's my only hypothesis for now, but I don't think you're the same one that might have been with me when I was younger. But yes, although I don't know if I would call you an angel per say, I do believe that you have some sort of abilities or power that can somehow smite these particular demons,” Waverly sat up and briefly scrolled through an article on her phone before giving up and tossing it to the other side of the couch.

 

“You mean you haven't run into one of those before?” there were still things that Nicole was trying to learn about Revenant history as well as the Earp curse, but what she had been told was short and details about what she needed to look out for were vague. She only ran into a couple while trying to help Waverly, but aside from the red eyes and weird markings whenever Peacemaker was shoved into their face, Waverly knew that she wasn't certain on how to classify someone as a Revenant. 

 

Encountering the creature at the church just added a whole new spin on Nicole's Paranormal of Purgatory 101 course.

 

“No, and I wasn't there when whatever took Willa’s body appeared. When I was possessed I didn't have visions either, so thanks to whatever demon did that for making it the most useless possession in the history of exorcism,” Nicole smiled and started to slowly shift into a more natural seated position. Waverly saw the displeasure still evident when Nicole tried to roll her shoulders to remedy the awkward feeling she spoke about earlier. The brunette had her suspicions, but she wouldn't say anything until more proof was given. 

 

“Wave look at me for a sec,” Nicole's eyes seemed to become attentive on the base of her neck as Waverly turned to face her. “God...Wave I..” her hands touched her neck lightly, brushing away strands of light brown hair to reveal the bruise marks that formed from the creature’s grip. Waverly rested her cheek into Nicole's hand and kissed her palm gently.

 

“It would have been worse if it wasn't for you Nicole. I'm okay, and it's because you saved me.” 

 

“Just don't call me a guardian angel yet, my body isn't ready to be put on the spot like that.”

 

“If you weren't practically maimed nearly to death, I would hit you for that, just sayin’,” Waverly warned.

 

“I'm just trying to keep myself sane, and right now I don't know if it's paranoia or if I actually sprouted wings, but something is bugging the hell out of my back.”

 

Waverly had Nicole lean forward to inspect the scars on her back once again. They were indeed still visible, and the scarring went all the way from the top of where Nicole's shoulder blades started, all the way down to the midsection of her lower back. All of it had appeared to heal completely, but it was still unnatural just how fast both wounds closed up. It was something Waverly had seen with her own two eyes, there was no way she could simply block out that detail about Nicole.

 

Still, whatever had caused the scarring and the tears into Nicole's back prior to, it caused her excruciating pain. If it were to happen again with tender flesh, Waverly wasn't sure if Nicole could tolerate that kind of torture. There was also the concern that she may not recover from it a second time, and that scared Waverly more than anything.

 

“Just...don't do anything rash like that again, okay?” Waverly said timidly, her fingers now tracing the exposed skin and scarred tissue, which she could feel Nicole shudder the lower she got. There were things Waverly never wanted to experience and in only a week, the one thing she dreaded the most happened twice.

 

Nicole's intimacy with death was beginning to wear Waverly down, and it seemed like she was constantly worried where Nicole was going and what she was doing. True she was dating a cop, but normal cops also don't get into gunfights with demons or the undead.

 

“Waverly, listen to me,” Nicole turned her head just enough to get a glimpse of the girl behind her. “It's a bad habit of mine to help people in need when they have no one else. It’s part of the reason I became a cop. But know that I will never try to do anything that seems unreasonable or play the hero when the odds are against me. This...was an exception and I've learned from it. Both of us need to be careful from now on.” 

 

Waverly rested her head against Nicole's back, fatigue was slowly taking over from their recent affairs. She was also exhausted emotionally, but took comfort in just being around Nicole and knowing she was there with her. Unfortunately, Nicole was still troubled by what had happened in the church. The monster was one thing, the fact that she couldn't remember a single thing that happened after it attacked her was another. 

 

Nicole got up, grimacing at the discomfort in her lower back before picking up her destroyed uniform. She mumbled something incoherent before sighing weakly, most likely because she knew she’d have a two hour lecture with Nedley about taking better care of her uniform next time. When Waverly turned to look up at her, her cheeks tinted red at seeing Nicole in only a sports bra and her khakis, the tiredness unable to distract her from her attraction towards the officer.

 

“Wave, what can you tell me about angels? I mean, at the very least, do you know of anything that would be like them or…?” Nicole didn't look at her and instead of her usual bright smirk and interest of learning about Waverly's history topic for the day, she looked disgruntled and unsure from her own question. 

 

Waverly nodded. 

 

“Again, this is just me creating my own guess on what's going on Nic, I could very well be wrong and probably exaggerated what I thought I saw while I was near blacked out,” Waverly stood up and walked up towards Nicole, catching her gaze to make sure that she understood her words.

 

“Then what's happening to me?” Nicole stared down at her hands, flexing her fingers like there was the possibility of magic being released from them. For all they knew, that was exactly what had happened.

 

“If-and I’m going off of multiple compilations of theories, research, philosophies here-you are in fact that, then most likely you’re either an archangel or fallen one, but that’s the part that doesn’t make sense to me.” Waverly tried to ramble on too much for she was also keeping track of how Nicole thought of the situation as well.

 

“You mean like Satan,” Nicole looked slightly mortified.

 

“Yes, but that’s what I was getting to. You’re not vengeful, angry, or rebellious, unless you really are and then I’m just a bad judge of character.”

 

“I mean, I’ve had my bad phases as a teenager, but like, what person hasn’t gone through that?” 

 

“The only person I know who may have a more definitive answer is Dolls. I know that’s the last person you want to bring this up with, but he’s had experiences with different demons from multiple parts in the world. For pete’s sake he had a Black Mirror of all things just lying around,” Waverly paused when she saw Nicole give her an even more concerned look.

 

“Black Mirror?” 

 

“An artifact that could create a portal to a darker realm, or a means to communicate with the spiritual world. Most of those spirits though generally classify as top tier evil,” Waverly explained. Nicole nodded her head hesitantly, already connecting it to one of the many strange cases that Nedley had her involved in, except now she had actual means to believe it actually happened.

 

“So the guy that murdered people through mirrors didn’t happen coincidentally happen the same time around then, huh?”

 

Waverly sighed, shaking her head but not because she was disagreeing with the speculation.

 

“Correct. I’m serious though, when I get a hold of Wynonna, we’ll get Dolls too, Doc might also have something for us. Though he was held up in a well for practically a century,” there was honestly little faith that Doc would know anything about the holier side of Christianity, but if her ancestors had to deal with demons, then there had to be someone who also dealt with saints.

 

“There are also the Grigori, or Watchers. Some have been known to have the desire to help humanity after they defied God. Others, kind of had the opposite feeling towards mankind,” Nicole thought it over, but shook her head, not really certain if she wanted to find out exactly what she was just yet. To only know yourself as being just a human, doing everyday human activities, Waverly couldn’t imagine what this was doing to Nicole’s already overwhelmed mind. She may be open minded, but even Waverly would admit that hearing all this at once would be the most stressful thing to deal with. It made her finding out that she may not be an Earp sound like child’s play. Nicole may not even be a human being.

 

Still, nothing about that would change how Waverly felt about Nicole. She was still Nicole, despite the possibility of her being someone or something else. In Waverly’s eyes, that wouldn’t change who she was or the path she had already laid out for herself or just how much Nicole meant to her. 

 

Nicole walked up to Waverly, tossing her shirt off to the side before she leaned down to rest her forehead against Waverly’s. 

 

“At this point, I really don’t care Wave. I just want to be here, with you…” her voice was heavy with exhaustion, and Waverly could attest to as why. The brunette smiled weakly before tiptoeing up to kiss Nicole gently. Want overcame her, and she felt Nicole lose all of her own self control and take the kiss two steps further. 

 

Tongues met in a clash of wanton desire and passion. Waverly clung to Nicole’s neck, pulling her as close as humanly possible. She gasped when she felt teeth nick her bottom lip and when she suddenly realized that they had already wandered halfway down the hall to Nicole’s room.

 

They were in their own little world there were no demons, angels, or even other human beings at this point. This was just them, just Nicole Haught and Waverly Earp, and they weren’t going to let anything stop them from have just this moment for themselves.

 

The chaos and insanity that happened completely fueled their sudden rush of adrenaline. Waverly felt like she was going to explode spontaneously from the heat that swelled up inside her. Nicole’s lips trailed down her neck gently in attempts to avoid the bruises, and before she knew it, Waverly’s back was braced up against the wall and she couldn’t help her hips from arching up against Nicole’s. 

 

This wasn’t just a sudden act, and although Waverly could tell exactly where this was headed, she had already planned on this long before any of these last few events occurred. If not for the inconvenient interruptions and their hectic schedules, they would have been through this song and dance multiple times. It wasn’t just sex, it was the uncontrollable emotions for Nicole that Waverly couldn’t contain. 

 

“Nicole, please, I want…I can’t,” she needn’t say anymore as Nicole’s right leg shifted between Waverly’s, just barely rubbing against that aching spot that caused her bite her lip in attempts to stifle a cry of need. This was absolutely unbearable to her.

 

She had little thought to their physical appearance and hygiene after the ordeal as both were stained with blood, bruised, and smelled like a stale campfire. Waverly almost felt obscene for thinking that those traits made their actions seem even more arousing. It also didn’t help that despite the roughness of the kiss and their lower body movements, Nicole’s hands caressed Waverly’s neck so gently and cautiously as to avoid the bruise around her neck. This certainly wouldn’t do.

 

Using her own strength, Waverly pushed Nicole away, only to begin suggestively removing her cardigan and reaching back at the zipper of her dress, purposely torturing the eager woman in front of her by slipping off only the straps, but not completely removing the article of clothing. She watched as Nicole’s pupils widened with hunger and her jaw clench in anticipation. Nicole was already halfway there save for the utility belt that they had completely forgotten to remove when Waverly was dressing her wounds. To Waverly though, there was some fun in the idea of being the one to relieve Nicole of her equipment.

 

“Tease,” Nicole grinned.

 

Waverly only smiled with fake innocence as she walked up closer to the officer, fingers hooking around the leather of Nicole’s belt before her thumbs undid the clasp with ease and letting it drop to the floor. Their lips met again once Nicole could no longer hold herself back from claiming the smaller girl. Waverly could hear Nicole attempt to bite back a groan when her hand moved from the belt to cup the growing heat between Nicole’s thighs. She felt a sudden rush of heat down her abdomen as well at the sensation of knowing how aroused Nicole was for her.

 

“Wave...I won’t be able to stop if you…” Waverly silenced the words in a bruising kiss. 

 

“I don’t want you to,” she gasped out. 

 

That was the final trigger for Nicole and Waverly damn well knew it. Her heart was pounding as Nicole gave into the seduction forcing her to push Waverly back against the wall, swallowing the moan that escaped the younger girl. Nicole pulled back, worry washed over her face when she remembered the injuries that Waverly had also sustained during the encounter. The younger girl caressed Nicole’s cheek, smiling to indicate that she was okay. Waverly then took Nicole’s hand in her own, tugging her bottom lip with her teeth suggestively while leading them into Nicole’s room. The fire in the officer’s eyes returned with the motion, her hands moving to pull the dress completely off of Waverly, who made the same move with Nicole's pants. 

 

Waverly sat onto the bed, sliding back slowly and ushering Nicole to follow suit. It took the officer a moment to collect herself, drinking in the sight in front of her with Waverly's body glowing in the dim lighting of the lamp in the corner that Nicole had left on. She wore a red laced bra with matching underwear that made Nicole swallow hard. It was almost as if she planned on staying at Nicole's tonight with full intention of knowing what would happen, minus their little side trip to the church.

 

Though to be fair, she had stopped following her agenda with the cluster fuck her life had been in the past few months.

 

The younger girl bit her lip as she saw Nicole kick her khakis off to the side and begin to follow Waverly on top of the bed. The slow movement did not appease the appetite Waverly was having for her girlfriend, but it was at least tamed with seeing darkened auburn eyes glazed with hunger for the ex-barmaid. 

 

“Officer Haught, my sister better be still alive underneath you or I’m going to send that fine ass of yours through eight layers of hell!”

 

Waverly felt like she was having a heart attack. Is this what having a stroke is like? 

 

Nicole rolled over immediately to the side of the bed with hands up as if she had been in this exact situation before, while Waverly grabbed whatever blankets she could get a hold of to cover herself. It struck her that the action was kind of pointless because once she recognized the voice as being that of her sister, she realized that Wynonna had seen her in much more unflattering positions.

 

“Wynonna, there are seven layers of hell. Seven!” 

 

“Well she’s alive and still trying to correct me...Oh my god!” the recently promoted eldest Earp heir attempted to shield her eyes even with the famous Peacemaker still aimed straight at Nicole.

 

“As much as I get a thrill of being put in the role that many boys have on this side of Waverly, you think you could put the gun d-Ow!” Waverly huffed, but she wouldn't have hit Nicole for that if she knew she was on the bad side of her arm. She did see her sister grin before lowering Peacemaker back into its holster. 

 

“Hey Dolls don't come into this room yet, there are sinners in here!” Wynonna laughed before shutting the door to allow time for the shell-shocked lovers to recuperate.

 

“Well I definitely feel like I've been taken to at least the fourth layer in hell…” Nicole got up first, going to her dresser and attempting to find jeans, a tank top, and a flannel while talking to herself quietly. Waverly gathered that she might have rolled on her arm when Wynonna gracefully burst into Nicole' bedroom. 

 

The younger girl pinched the bridge of her nose before getting out of bed and following Nicole. 

 

“Here, I only have a pair of your shorts and one of my shirts from when you stayed here last.” Waverly blushed, but couldn't hold back her smile when she saw Nicole was even redder than she was. Unfortunately, Wynonna bursting in the room did nothing to help the burning in her abdomen. The need was very much present and now her girlfriend was in a very cozy flannel.

 

The two didn’t say a word but did exchange quite a few flirty looks before wandering into Nicole’s kitchen where there stood the whole gang.

 

“Really Wynonna, no knock or doorbell?” Waverly sat at one of the chairs.

 

“Really Waves, six phone calls and I don’t dare want to see how many texts there are, and you don’t even answer the door when we did in fact, knocked. Seriously, we went to the church like you-”

 

“Wait, you went there, what were you able to find?” Waverly quickly changed the subject, interested in what the others were able to find out.

 

“Well we found the body I’m assuming you two left, but I have to say, how were you able to completely char a member of Legion?” Dolls answered instead. His eyes were heavily focused on Waverly, whom he was pretty certain was probably the cause after the power she displayed with the demon that possessed her.

 

Waverly swallowed, but couldn’t help but look up at Nicole, who was also just as tense under Dolls’ straight no-nonsense interrogation tactics. Instead of keeping quiet though, Nicole began to speak up, and Waverly knew, it was because Nicole wanted to understand the truth about what was going on. She always did.

 

“Dolls, I think I did it…” Waverly waited from the scoff of the other members of the BBD, but instead, Nicole was met with confused looks and a very curious Dolls now.

 

“Okay, Agent Haught, you want to run by with me how you managed to burn a creature with skin similar to limestone? Because after what we saw tonight, I really don’t want to pull your badge for perjury,” Dolls threatened. Waverly’s heart sank at this, but she hoped Dolls would truly believe Nicole regardless of just deputizing her. Her concern though was cut short after Nicole spoke up without hesitation.

 

“I need you to tell us what you know about Angels, Dolls.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, husky puppies make terrible beta readers. Enjoy!

 

 

 

“There is a growing threat creeping on your front porch right now and all want to know about is a topic in children's Sunday bible class?” Waverly could hear the irritation in Dolls’s voice, which it was agreed upon by all that whatever they had encountered at the church wasn't the last creature they would see. 

 

“Pray tell officer?” Doc asked to keep Nicole explaining the situation. Wynonna was also surprisingly interested in the discussion at hand. Waverly suspected it was because her sister was now dreading that Nicole was going to convert her to the Christian faith and turn her sister into a bible thumper.

 

“When Waverly and I were attacked, I was...hit and then I blacked out. The next thing I remember is Waverly calling out to me and thinking that the woman-creature thing had gotten me bad somehow along my backside,” Nicole began to take off her flannel, but Waverly didn’t think that Dolls would be convinced with just some back injury, especially when it was probably already completely healed at the rate it was going earlier. The younger girl wandered over to the kitchen counter where she had aimlessly tossed her purse once she got Nicole into the cabin. 

 

Dolls inspected the scarred tissue running along the downside of Nicole's backside. Waverly fidgeted as the memory of Nicole lying near dead on the floor-not once, but twice flashed before her with seeing the healed flesh. Though seeing it a third time plus standing a further distance away, made Waverly notice that one line was much longer than the other. She tried to shake off the thought and instead wandered over to where she left her purse.

 

“There were also these,” Waverly stretched out her hand to give Dolls two of the white feathers she had found on the floor surrounding Nicole. She could see how Nicole tense up at the sight of the objects, but ended up shaking it off before lifting up her tanktop forward to keep her frontside covered in order to show the others the two long scars that ran down the entirety of her backside in perfect symmetry. Waverly noticed that the scarring had not changed since they had looked at it on the couch after realizing that the wound was healing on its own.

 

Dolls starting to open up to the idea of Nicole’s question and took one of the feathers to inspect. Blood still stained along the vane, but what Waverly saw interested him more was the discoloration at the tip. The feather itself was pure white before transitioning to dark ash, like a gradient scale. His dark eyes narrowed, as if something had clicked into his memories and now he was trying to recall where he had seen such a feather before.

 

“We saw a number of these at the church, that confirms both of you were there before us,” Dolls noted.

 

“I have hunted many a fowl, and I can tell you that does not belong to any large birdie I’ve put down,” Doc grabbed the second feather, and Wynonna was behind him with curiosity too. 

 

“Please don’t bring up the idea that my sister may woohooing a stupidly large chicken,” Wynonna raised a brow at the century old man.

 

Nicole sighed, running a hand through loose red locks, as if to still get a grasp of her new reality. Stress was starting to become evident on the officer, and Waverly had never seen Nicole look so confused. She turned to her girlfriend, taking her hand in her own to show some sign of comfort that she wasn’t alone in figuring this all out. She was the one that should be uncertain with herself, not Nicole, not her stubborn if not confidant Nicole. 

 

“Regardless, the good thing about what happened is it incapacitated the creature long enough for Wynonna to kill it for good. Oh, and next time, I wouldn’t use the word “angel”,” Dolls said, handing Waverly the feather back. “There are beings similar in nature, based on old texts and scriptures, but their existence is questioned even to this day as to what or who they were. Mostly because they’re very controversial in how they’re created.”

 

“So she’s not a Grigori?” Waverly wanted to affirm, looking up to see Nicole trying to distract herself by staring down at their joined hands. 

 

“She would have known if she was. Grigori do absolutely nothing but watch humanity in a location of their choice. Most take occupations like librarians or appear elderly to have as little influence to the lifestyle of the human race. They're fully aware that people don't give a shit about some old and possibly senile neighbor,” he continued to explain.

 

“Well I’m glad that she isn’t elderly, or she’d be a cradle robber. A librarian though? A sexy one? Now there are some ideas-hey!” Wynonna dodged the offending projectile which luckily was only a pocket dictionary that was sitting on Nicole’s counter. 

 

“Not helping!” Waverly scolded her provocative sibling. 

 

“Look, regardless of what our friendly neighborhood officer may be, she’s still Nicole right now and has been since, right? The depressed and upset one should only be me, I need you two to keep up the newly honeymooner behaviour to maintain some happiness in this group of delinquents,” Waverly’s shoulders dropped in concurrence to her sister’s words. Although Wynonna was indeed brash and as wanted as thistle weed in the town they grew up, Waverly took any piece of advice she gave to her to heart. Even if they were infrequent and rarely helpful at more crucial times.

 

“But why this is happening now? Why don’t I have any memory of it? What am I Dolls?” Nicole’s voice began to tremble, and Waverly tried to swallow down the familiar feeling of helplessness. Nicole was going through the same situation as she was upon hearing Bobo say that she wasn’t an Earp. Thing was, Nicole knew who she was, she wasn’t someone that everyone else wanted her to be, she was just herself and that was all she needed. She made her own person, but to have that now physically be proven that her very humanity may be a lie, Waverly was beginning to see an overwhelmed Nicole Haught. 

 

“You’re a Nephilim. Is that what you wanted to hear Officer Haught?” Doll’s voice rose in retaliation. The room fell silent, with neither Doc nor Wynonna were unable to interject with a retort or a quip to Doll’s counter to Nicole.

 

Waverly felt Nicole tense, her hand clenching tightly on the younger Earp’s, but not so much that it would hurt her. Even with rage and confusion becoming evident in Nicole’s auburn eyes, she could still remember the support she was hanging onto for dear life. That support was Waverly.

 

“Thank you,” Nicole’s voice cracked at those words, but tears did not fall. “For actually fucking including me in on something Dolls.”

 

“Nicole wa-,” Before Waverly could stop her, Nicole headed straight for the front door. Anger also began to swell up in Waverly, her desire to also keep Nicole from harm’s way whether they be emotional or physical was causing an irritating burn in her chest. Dolls was intolerable at times and Waverly struggled with it for a long time before she came to terms with that. 

 

She began to open her mouth to scold Dolls for his lack of empathy, but her sister stepped in instead.

 

“Go catch up with Nicole, I’ll talk with him okay?” Wynonna looked at Waverly with a reassuring grin before turning her attention on Dolls. Waverly didn’t protest, and began her pursuit for the woman that had already exited the cabin.

 

“You know Dolls, I’m surprised this is the first time she’s actually bitten back with some of your bullshit,” Waverly heard her sister begin to lecture the other agent. 

 

Despite harshness Dolls displayed with Nicole, none of them could truly hate or be upset with him for his choice on how to approach the situation. That was how Waverly came to understand it.

 

Waverly wrapped her arms around herself, her eyes staring out into the darkness, but saw no sign of Nicole. Fear began to grip at her chest, thinking that Nicole had really wandered off somewhere on her own. With it being that they were in Purgatory and after the church incident, it did not make Waverly feel spectacular about her girlfriend perusing the woods by herself.

 

“I’m not mad, I just needed to cool off,” Waverly jumped, not expecting Nicole to be right next to her.

 

“Jesus...Nic, you gave me a fright,” she said exasperatedly. 

 

“Okay your British thing was cute at the start, but I can’t let you insult their accent anymore,” Nicole gave a weak smile in attempt to try to keep the mood free from the weight of their newly acquired information. Waverly let out a huff and exaggerated her posture, but it didn’t hold as Waverly walked up to Nicole to embrace her still tense form. Nicole accepted, resting her chin on top of the smaller girl’s head but not before leaving a gentle kiss upon it. 

 

This was Waverly’s favorite position with the Nicole. It wasn’t sexual or erotic as many like to boast about with their significant other, and that was exactly why Waverly didn’t think it could be replaced if they were finally given the opportunity to go down that road. They fit, and Waverly felt like she was secure. That nothing could tear her away from the woman she loved more than anything. 

 

There she went thinking about that word again. A word that she doubted because she had used it so offhandedly with Champ Hardy before without consequence. No she didn’t love him, but because he used it and no one had told her to be cautious of its significance, she threw the word around as if it was like a social trend.

 

That changed when she felt her heart flip at that very moment she first met Nicole, leaning against the bar entrance that hot summer day.

 

“Don’t leave like that again..please,” she said quietly, burying her face in Nicole’s chest to protect herself from the early winter breeze. 

 

“Hey...I won’t, I realized that was a nearly dumb life choice I could have made, so I came back,” Nicole’s embrace tightened, and Waverly sighed with content to greet the warmth being shared with her. “I didn’t mean to run off like that, I just...I’m just confused right now.”

 

“Dolls didn’t mean ill by what he said,” Waverly tried to reason.

 

“It wasn’t him. I’m just trying to wrap my head around a lot right now. First y’all being ancestors to Wyatt Earp the demon slayer, and you being possessed by some weird goo-demon, then us being attacked by something I would typically roll my eyes at in a terrible B-horror movie. Which I will now never make fun of someone for screaming in movies like that again,” Nicole inhaled before pulling away slightly, but letting her hands lower down to Waverly’s waist. “I’m all for keeping an open mind, but now I’m confronted with being some holy being when I don’t even believe in God or side with one religion or another.”

 

“But you’re still my Nic,” Waverly lifted her head to catch the eyes of the taller woman. Tears began to form because deep down somewhere in Waverly, she feared that Nicole would become distant from her. After all, Nicole stuck with her even with knowing that she was manipulated by a demon and she was still with her now. She would do the same for Nicole in a heartbeat.

 

“And I need to keep telling myself that. Nothing’s changed except I might have a nightmare about having two tumors on my back, but hey, maybe...maybe everything will turn out okay and I’ll just be able to fly,” Nicole chuckled nervously, as Waverly could tell that the officer was still trying to retain her sanity after a very long night of what would drive most people off a cliff.

 

Without even thinking about it, Waverly’s hands rose to caress the back of Nicole’s neck, bringing her down into a desperate kiss. The saltiness of her tears stung the tip of her tongue, but it was soothed once Nicole’s met hers. Waverly then felt Nicole crane her neck to achieve better access to both their heated mouths. A familiar spark settled in her lower stomach and Waverly was beginning to feel her knees give in once again.

 

She could feel the hesitation though, and soon after the removal of tender lips that were just on her own. Their breathing was heavy and visible with the cold bitter air around them. 

 

“I wish I didn’t have to stop,” Nicole tried to grasp words. “But I feel like we’d be due for another interruption again.” Waverly smiled, but also felt the desire in her burn frantically, demanding the attention that kept being taken away from it. She felt it begin to calm though once she felt the soft brush of Nicole’s nose on her own. Waverly smiled, fully pressing into the body of the other girl, but then noticed that Nicole was only wearing her flannel out in this weather.

 

“You’re going to catch a cold, dummy,” Waverly huffed at the taller girl, who couldn’t help but chuckle.

 

“Well grabbing a jacket on my dramatic way out wasn't exactly the first thing on my mind you know?” Nicole gripped onto her upper arms, as without Waverly to help exchange warmth and her adrenaline beginning to subside, the chill was starting to become more apparent to her.

 

“I’ll tell them to go if you want me to,” the girl tried to reason in order for them to be back in a warm house. 

 

“It’s fine,” Nicole bit her lip. “I know who I am, and where I came from. I don’t need reaffirmation.” 

 

The wind howled eerily and Waverly shivered not only because of the cold, but because she worried that they may not be the only ones outside. The night were almost too still and after having lived in Purgatory for her entire life, there was sometimes comfort in hearing the crickets or the trees bristling in the wind. There was nothing, as if the forest itself feared the warning the gale brought forth. 

 

Nicole obviously understood this as well, which was not a surprise to Waverly due to her display of cognizance in multiple situations. The night may have appeared beautiful, the stars shining brilliantly and the moon in a near perfect crescent, but underneath there was something uncanny. Nicole could sense this, and soon her arm shifted and wrapped itself around Waverly’s shoulder to begin leading them back to her cabin. 

 

“Come on, I don’t want to also be responsible for you catching something awful too.”

 

Waverly knew though, it wasn’t just the common cold that Nicole dreaded finding them in the open that night.

 

\------

 

Nothing continued the night prior. The three members of Black Badge left and Waverly decided to stay and try to keep Nicole’s mind off of the angel topic. Sadly there was no continuation from what happened between the couple before they were rudely interrupted by her sister. To make matters worse, after a long and exhausting night and finally getting to just sleep tucked into Nicole’s arms peacefully, they were rudely interrupted with a phone call and soon after Nicole’s alarm clock.

 

“I thought you had the next couple days off? Three-fourths of the department is still pretending they're suffering side effects of Bobo’s poison,” Waverly’s brows knitted together in slight annoyance. She watched as Nicole took out an intact uniform from her closet.

 

“And the remaining fourth are just our operator, me, and maybe one or two officers in the field that don't call in sick because they're always just sitting out on patrol sleeping. I know babe, but Purgatory needs someone to be on duty,” she knew Nicole was as peeved about having to go in even with her injury, but because Nicole took her job seriously, there would be no point in trying to argue against her leaving.

 

“Did Nedley at least explain why he's making you go in today? It has nothing to do with the church does it?” at this point, Waverly figured someone would have called in a break in or something.

 

“Coyotes caught scent of the hamburger meat for the barbecue social this afternoon because the good ol’ reverend himself forgot to shut the kitchen door all the way again. Yeah, he already had that figured out this morning. Sounds like Wynonna and them also cleaned house before someone saw the body,” Nicole explained while grabbing her jacket.

 

The BBD crew took off shortly after the couple had returned back to the cabin last night. Dolls said he would try to gather what information he could based on the evidence given to him in regards to Nicole’s small predicament. Waverly could tell that Nicole just wanted to sleep off the whole ordeal in hopes that maybe normalcy would still be existent when she woke up. Both also became too exhausted to really continue with where they were inconveniently cut off at before the gang showed up.

 

“Is it alright if I drop by later? I know you’ll be working but…” Waverly was hoping that Nicole would let her tag along at some point, just in case something similar to what happened last night would occur again. Sure it was daylight, but even Revenants caused havoc 24/7, so Waverly wasn't going to take that chance with this new threat.

 

“You can drive with me into town, Nedley not telling me what the situation is isn’t normal. I don’t think he’s compromised, but I also don’t think it’s the average Shorty’s dick swinging contest either,” Waverly nodded, a tiny bit of her was absolutely thrilled that Nicole was going to let her go with her on patrol this time. She did contain the excitement, especially after her possession tried to ruin their relationship when it came to Nicole’s struggle as a female officer.

 

They left for the center of town as soon as both of them grabbed what they needed from Nicole's cabin. Waverly called Wynonna before they left, making sure that if there was trouble, they had some form of back up this time. She wondered if part of the reason Nicole let her go with is to make sure she didn't sprout wings again and catch demons on fire. It would be worse since there would be civilians involved, and if Nicole couldn't control the power, she may end up hurting an innocent.

 

As they approached town, Waverly noticed that multiple cars were parked outside the church with the sign updated to apologize for having to move the barbecue to next Sunday. Service was still going as if nothing had happened. It nearly felt like what she and Nicole had been through was nothing more than a bad dream. 

 

If it wasn’t for the officer’s reassuring hand on her thigh to indicate that she also noticed the church again, Waverly might have questioned whether or not the demon was still manipulating her.

 

“This is Officer Haught, I'm arriving at the scene, is Jackson or Redmond on call?” there was a pause before dispatch buzzed back.

 

“Sorry officer, you'll have to solo this job. Redmond is on highway patrol and Jackson called in again. The caller reported breaking glass two gunshots at approximately eight this morning.”

 

“Jesus Christ…” Nicole groaned before mounting the radio back on the dash. Thankfully, right as the operator went silent, the rest of the group pulled up in Dolls’ large SUV.

 

“What can you tell me about this house?” Nicole questioned as she took her glock out to inspect the magazine and count her bullets. Waverly peered out the window, but it didn't take long for her to remember the tacky garden gnomes and the overuse of that terrible pastel yellow all over the house.

 

“It’s Bill and Martha Cunningham's place,” Waverly couldn't hold the worry in her tone. “They should be at church right now, why did they just call in about gunshots only a half an hour ago?”

 

“Some of Purgatory’s residents find it to be more of an inconvenience to be involved with police matters rather than acting and possibly saving a life. I'm going to rally with the others, at least this time we aren't going into this unprepared,” Nicole was correct. Having Wynonna and the boys with them this time made Waverly feel remarkably better about the two of them just wandering into another vague situation.

 

She tried to not let the fact that Nicole would have gone into the house by herself if none of them had gone with her sink in too deep.

 

“Aren’t the Cunninghams the most vanilla couple in all of Purgatory?” Wynonna jested as the three approached Nicole’s cruiser. “I think I said fuck one time in public and Martha fainted.”

 

“All the better to hide whatever skeletons they’ve got in their closets. This place is almost too cliché,” Nicole remarked, staring down at one of the creepy gnomes holding a wheel barrow with that unsettling smile on its face.

 

Two more gunshots fired off, causing the group to duck behind both vehicles. 

 

“Down! Down!” Dolls shouted as one more shot echoed inside the house. 

 

“Haught, take Wynonna and Waverly! Circle around the back and see if we can corner the perp, Doc and I will try to flush them out!” Both cowboy and agent rushed to the front porch, staying low to the ground. 

 

“Erica do you copy? Tell Nedley I have shots fired on 215 Westbrook Drive, but I have BBD with me as well,” Nicole radioed in. She rose from her position, and turned to hold out for Waverly to help her up as well.

 

“Wave…” Nicole began, and Waverly frowned, knowing full well what she was going to try to say.

 

“I’m not letting you go in alone again,” she argued before a debate could even start.

 

“Sis is right officer, we kind of want to keep more than just two eyes on you if good ol’ Martha and Bill turn out to be more than just some gnome collecting freaks or something,” Waverly saw Nicole flinch at her sister’s statement, but kept herself level before planning out their pathway to the back door.

 

“Okay, on my signal, I’ll head out first, Wynonna you watch the rear. We can keep Waverly from getting caught in a crossfire that way.” 

 

The three maneuvered through the garden and followed the pebblestone walkway towards the back of the house. Waverly kept close behind Nicole and also made sure Wynonna was keeping up as well. With the amount of creatures and demons she had encountered with her sister, she figured she would be able to expect what would happen, but after the church, that changed.

 

If the Cunninghams were converted much like the woman on the wheel, Waverly really didn’t want to deal with two of those creatures at the same time. Having Wynonna with Peacemaker did indeed alleviate the fear, but two? Not only that, but not being able to have any fire power to assist with the situation made matters worse for her. This feeling of not being able to help, not being able to protect Wynonna or Nicole started to drown her mind again and pull at her already damaged heart after the demon had done enough to make her feel inadequate to the group.

 

“Wave, baby, are you with me?” Nicole’s voice cut through her mind’s self loathing, and Waverly inhaled nervously before nodding her head. “Hey remember what I said, I learned from the last one, I won’t make the same mistake again with these things.” 

 

“Less talky more breaky,” Wynonna pointed Peacemaker at the door. Nicole shook her head before gesturing both Earp sisters to move to the side of the door, preparing to make her entrance. She peeked inside, ensuring that she didn’t see the end of a barrel or anything suspicious enough to look like it would set off a trap. 

 

There was a loud crash as Nicole kicked the door in, raising her gun immediately while she moved in position. Even with nearly a hole in her arm, she was able to keep her aim steady, but there was pain evident in the way the corner of her lips twitched. Wynonna held up Peacemaker, to follow in behind if not be ready in case something attacked Nicole. 

 

“It’s clear, go!” 

 

Waverly followed behind Nicole, hazel eyes scanning the empty house, but the first thing she did notice was a foul stench assaulting her senses. She attempted to wrap her scarf around her mouth and nose to dull the odor. Aside from the smell, there was nothing in the house that seemed suspicious or out of place. Various cookbooks were strewn across the kitchen counter along with utensils and a cutting board to indicate that someone had been in here recently as Waverly didn’t take Mrs. Cunningham to leave her dishware out after she finished cooking.

 

“Phew! I really hope whatever that smell is isn’t what Martha was planning on serving for breakfast,” Wynonna waved her hand in front of her nose. “I’m never trusting another muffin she gives me ever again.”

 

“Wynonna, did you hear anything when we walked in?” Nicole lowered her gun and walked towards the dining table, her arm covering her nose. Waverly saw the officer also look up at her to silently ask the same question.

 

“There were only those two gunshots, and the entrance, living room, and the two bedrooms are clear as well,” Dolls piped in as both he and Doc stood in the doorway.

 

“They probably shot themselves to be free from this godawful stink,” Wynonna groaned while searching through the fridge and cupboards incase there was anything that would stick out to any of them.

 

Waverly wandered over to the counters, discerning if any of the books were more than just your average cookbook. It was then that she could feel an aura of heat coming from the stove, which after seeing the light and the temperature setting, it could be the source of the smell.

 

“Oh god…”

 

Her eyes widened, and her legs gave in as she immediately tried to back away from what she saw in the window. She clenched at her chest before jumping again at the feeling of someone behind her.

 

“Babe, calm down I got you, what-” Waverly had screwed her eyes shut, but when she heard Nicole’s voice drop, she knew that she too had seen the contents cooking in the Cunningham residence.

 

“Well, Mrs. Cunningham is partially accounted for,” Nicole swallowed, but Waverly felt the officer’s arms shift over her shoulders, bringing her in closer to pull her away from the decapitated head of Martha Cunningham. Waverly watched people die before, seen the aftermath of cruelty, very much like what happened to the Blacksmith when the Stone Witch sought her out. It didn’t mean that she would ever become used to it. Especially when these were people that she had grown up around. 

 

The image of Martha Cunningham’s face twisted in agony and fear as her head was perfectly propped up on one of her cookie sheets inside, was now burned into Waverly’s memories. It wasn’t long ago that she saw both of them at the last Purgatory Pancake feed, excited that Martha had a new hymn to play at church that following Sunday. She was almost unrecognizable, because never did Waverly think that she would have to see her be afraid of something.

 

“Mr. Cunningham must still be in the house somewhere. Whatever attacked them I think he was trying to fend it off,” Waverly’s voice shook, but her will tried to overcome the consternation that that tore at her guts. “Unless he’s the one who did it. He might have been turned into the same monster that attacked us in the church,” she gripped onto Nicole’s arm, feeling her heart calm from the initial panic she endured.

 

“That smell isn’t coming from that there stove, but in this here cellar and I do implore we do not waste anymore time ignoring,” Doc traced the scent to a door next to the refrigerator, his face twitching from finding source to whatever rot was hidden behind it.

 

Dolls and Wynonna went first, the lead agent of BBD heading in first as he was most likely the only one besides Nicole who carried a flashlight. 

 

“Wave if we’re going down there, at least take this, Nedley’s going to give me hell, but I don’t want you going in unarmed,” Waverly blinked before noticing Nicole holding out her issued shotgun. Waverly stared at the weapon, concern gripped her, but not because she was worried about how to use it.

 

“Nic...I can’t…” Waverly stuttered, knowing that there would be severe consequences if she used Nicole’s gun, especially when she knew how important being a defender of the people it is to her. She nearly put Nicole in the hot seat before with during her possession, she couldn't afford to have it happen again.

 

“Just take it before I have a mild moral panic attack. I can’t have you going in there unarmed and I’m not going to just give you a broom to defend yourself,” Waverly took the weapon and checked both the bullet count and the safety. 

 

“I know you can use it, and if Nedley really wants me to figure out how this town works, then it won’t hurt to break a couple rules to keep my civilians safe,” Nicole winked. Honesty was certainly her strong point, but Nicole also knew how be a cop when it mattered to the people. Demons most certainly don’t follow the rules in regards to man, why should she in these situations?

 

“Hey gal pals, you better get down here!” Waverly headed towards the basement first with Nicole watching her back. 

 

Thankfully Nicole was in fact prepared to endure whatever this day decided to store for them, her flashlight leading Waverly down the creaking staircase. Waverly brushed abandoned cobwebs in her wake as a soft moaning sound grew louder the further they descended.

 

“Looks like Mr. Cunningham has been very busy,” Wynonna tilted her head towards the source of the of the noise, a giant man made hole with archaic symbols circling around the entrance.

 

“I've seen this scripture before...that woman,” Waverly snapped into researcher mode, edging closer to the opening of the homemade cavern until she felt someone tug on her sleeve. Nicole cautiously moved with Waverly until she felt that the younger girl was getting a bit to close to her liking. Waverly didn't fight it, understanding that the last time she had become engulfed in her curiosity, she nearly lost herself and tried to destroy her friends in the process. 

 

“It must be some sort of ritual circle, one to summon or mutate normal people into monsters. I think they're used as vessels of some kind, a way to bond this “Legion” to our world. These same markings were on the wheel the woman was attached to,” she stated based on what had been gathered from the events at the church and possibly a bit of dabbling on her phone while Nicole was resting.

 

“Whoever is doing this is sacrificing people for a reason, and I feel they’re not just selecting people at random,” she theorized. Her rambling halted the moment she saw Nicole flinch and raise her gun towards the empty ingress of the den. 

 

Waverly had hoped that it was uninhabited.

 

“I think Mr. Cunningham knows we’re in here…” Wynonna commented as she too raised Peacemaker towards the cave.

 

“Mrs. Cunningham too.”

 

There was a long pause before all of them had realized what Nicole had just said.

 

“Are you batshit insane?! We just saw her head become the main entrée!” The heir hissed.

 

“Well when Martha shows up next to the staircase, then they will clarify for not only you-but also me that I am in fact sane and am just having probably one of the worst days ever,” Nicole snapped back. 

 

“We only want the prophet...give her to us,” a voice gurgled from inside the den. “The master will spare those that cooperate with the Hollowed.”

 

“Everyone, backs to each other, we need to keep eyes out in each direction,” Dolls commanded. 

 

Waverly raised the shotgun, both her and Nicole waiting for whatever monster of the week was going to show up from the darkness. She could hear creaking, the sound now familiar to her as they had slowly crept down that same staircase not moments ago. 

 

“Okay Haught, you win, looks like Martha didn’t want to stay dea-Oh fuck me!” Waverly didn’t distract herself to see whatever had come down the stairs. Instead, her own sights were preoccupied with Mr. Cunningham, who was now emerging from the shadows. Well now they knew where the stench was coming from.

 

Waverly’s finger held firmly around the trigger and her heart began to pound loudly. 

 

What was left of Bill was hardly distinguishable save for the same suspenders and neutral colored flannel that he always wore. His face was elongated and the dozen, tiny tendrils growing from his facial pores wiggled aimlessly as if touching the air around him, seeking out the prey that had wandered down so carelessly into its domain. Withered human hands could be seen though Waverly became instantly focused on the large crab like claw that gripped onto the arch of the den’s entrance. 

 

The transformation was more severe than with the woman in the church, which Waverly figured out quickly that it was because the monsters had more time to accommodate their selected hosts. A question flashed into her mind to wonder if these were even demons they were facing, as she couldn’t recognize what was happening to these innocent people. This wasn’t possession or slaughter, it was like they were dealing with a parasitic infection.

 

“Keep Bill busy, Martha’s got a date with Peacemaker right now!” As badly as the urge to look over her shoulder was, Waverly refused to see Martha in a similar state as her husband. She already had her shrieking face burned into her memory, she didn’t want to see the rest.

 

The creature was fully exposed now and it’s mobility was starting to increase as the transformation continued to break down what visible humanity was left of Bill. 

 

“Waverly, fire now!” her thoughts easily shoved aside as Waverly and Nicole both began blowing bullets into the creature. It shrieked, the claws smashing into the wall chaotically before one steady shot from Waverly blew off the right limb from the monsters frantic body. They did work, incoherent hisses escaped the creature as it looked as if it tried to escape to the safety of its hole.

 

However, both of them had missed a very important detail of the creature.

 

Instead of hiding away, it revealed to the couple an appendage they failed to notice, and it didn’t take Waverly long to register what it was as it encircled her leg and gave a strong pull to drag the girl towards it.

 

“Nic!” 

 

“Waverly! No!” 

 

“Don’t worry prophet, you will live. But you’re going to regret defying me, and I’m going to start with the sacrifices you brought,” its face, or what Waverly would classify as it, grew dangerously close, the worm like phalanges beginning to stretch towards her. This was starting to feel a bit too deja vu to her liking.

 

“Hey!” 

 

The creature tilted its head, as if mildly annoyed by a human’s feeble attempt to protect another. As it turned though, Waverly briefly saw it freeze while a faint glow began to emit before it. 

 

Nicole stood but she was hunched over and her arms clutched across her chest as if trying to reach behind herself. The glow Waverly saw was actually fire, fire that was on Nicole’s back and her hands, but she herself wasn't burning or feeling the effects of the flames.

 

As the fire grew more intimidating, Nicole began to groan and soon after cried out in immense pain as Waverly could hear bones breaking and what sounded like flesh being torn. 

 

“Wave...it hurts…” pain was evident in her tone, but Nicole refused to drop to her knees. 

 

“Nicole!” tears stung at Waverly’s eyes while she witnessed the true Nicole Haught being revealed before her. The grip on her leg was gone as the creature also had its full attention on Nicole now and spat out a warning.

 

“It cannot be, your kind is extinct, they told us it was safe!” the monster snapped and edged closer to the officer, but immediately pulled back in surprise as Nicole wailed in agony. 

 

A wing ripped out of the right side of Nicole’s back, blood and a smoky tint staining the feathers. Her body twisted to grow her left wing out as well, but what came out instead was only a raw, crimson soaked nub with distressed feathers remaining

 

For Waverly, she wasn’t sure if it was shock or fear that she was feeling. They were real, and her girlfriend was now living proof of it.

 

“Get the fuck away from me, and if you touch her again, I’ll rip your damned head off!” Nicole snarled at the being. It did not heed her warnings as its claw lifted and the appendage that let Waverly go, made another swift attempt to grab Nicole this time.

 

Nicole dodged the arm with ease, and hurled herself over the eccentric tentacle before it could grab her as well. Waverly could see the blood soaking her backside and her uniform was kept on because her sleeves were still intact. Despite this, Nicole moved quickly to get close to the creature, stopping just as she was able to place her hands on the creature’s head.

 

“The only damned one in this room is you, Nephilim!” 

 

Those were the creatures last words as they shifted to an erratic and uncontrollable scream. Waverly collected herself and rushed with her shotgun recovered and aimed. She saw Nicole’s hands squeezing around the creature’s head, the effects of whatever divine power she was capable of producing was causing the creature’s skin to melt right off.

 

Nicole pulled downward, the combination of intense heat and scorching flesh removed the head clean off the body of the creature. During that time as well, a gunshot fired off and the sudden silence of the second abomination indicated that it was dealt with by the other members of Black Badge. 

 

“Wynonna...you need...you need to shoot it. The head is regrowing,” Waverly watched as Nicole collapsed to the ground. Although she made it apparent that she had the strength and ability to take down one of these creatures on her own, this was new to her, and wasn’t able to stabilize herself. She had already used too much power, much like when she dealt with the church incident. 

 

Waverly dropped the shotgun as she ran to Nicole. She was burning up, but Waverly couldn’t tell if that was due to the overheating of her ability or because she was getting a fever in a weakened state.

 

“Nic, baby, stay awake. You’re okay,” Waverly coerced the officer to stay conscious.

 

“He...he promised us…” the creature tried to rise, its head nearly regenerated back to normal.

 

“Well too bad for you, you got a head I can shoot now,” Wynonna grinned as Peacemaker began its signature glow in response to the monster’s presence. 

 

Another shot fired, and the being was gone for good this time. 

 

Waverly sighed with relief, but she didn’t let up completely as Nicole was hardly moving. The wings were still visible and had not vanished as they did before. The younger Earp wondered if they would return to stasis as they did the first time. If not, well, Waverly didn’t want to think on the negative right now.

 

“Wave...is it over?” Nicole coughed, trying to pick herself up like a stubborn mule, but Waverly tried to keep her calm. If Nicole moved, Waverly was worried she would overexert herself and would end up forgetting everything that happened again. As stressful as she knew it was to conceive this new truth, Waverly didn’t want Nicole to run off in disgust with who she was and leave Purgatory to deal with these monsters alone. Wynonna may have Peacemaker, but to Waverly, they needed all the help they could get to stop whoever was doing this to the locals.

 

“It is,” she swallowed back her fear, “It’s gone baby, you were really brave,” she whispered. Nicole chuckled slightly at that, which Waverly wasn’t sure if it was because it was such a cheesy line or if she was still registering the situation.

 

“It didn’t hurt you did it?” now it was Waverly’s turn to giggle.

 

“Still more worried about me when you’ve lost probably ten pounds of blood and burned a demon’s face off,” Waverly lifted her hand to cup her girlfriend’s cheek. 

 

“Bobo! Leave her alone!” 

 

Waverly flinched as an unfamiliar voice rang through her head. She looked down at Nicole, who appeared to have also heard the same thing, but out of confusion to what happened, her hand gripped onto Waverly’s wrist.

 

A fuzzy but distinguishable vision flashed before Waverly’s eyes. 

 

“No…” Waverly whimpered, and Nicole’s grip dropped.

 

“Hey, both of you, we need to get out of here now,” Dolls’ voice was harsh, but it snapped both of them out of the trance. “Waverly, we need to find something to cover Nicole up and get her back home. We’ll clean this up while you get her back to her cabin.”

 

“Whatever did this most likely doesn’t know that we already crashed their little get together, and I suggest we don’t lose our new player to the game,” Doc also stated. 

 

“Here baby girl, I’ll help you two get out, then you drive your asses back to her place. Lucado is probably waiting for us at the homestead with a report. She does not need to know about Nicole,” Wynonna helped Waverly grabbed the other side of Nicole, which caused the officer to groan in pain with the wing hanging uselessly down her back. “Jesus it’s more like you gained ten pounds!” 

 

“Really can’t deal with your sass right now Wynonna,” Nicole managed out. 

The three rushed to Nicole’s cruiser and Waverly had never been so thankful for a church service going on at such a stupid hour. Small town, practically everyone was confessing whatever sin they managed to commit the saturday night before. They were able to get Nicole into the car and smash a few garden gnomes on their way out for good measure.

 

“Don’t forget this, she’s already ripped up two uniforms and is letting an Earp drive a Deputy’s vehicle. I really don’t want to find out what kind of hell Nedley will send her to if he finds out that she also let you use her shotgun,” her sister placed the Mossberg in its mount next to the gear stick.

 

“Wynonna...you didn’t...hear anything in there did you?” Waverly asked cautiously. “I...I think she might be my guardian.”

 

Wynonna hesitated for a moment, her eyes narrowing incredulously at her before softening in understanding to what Waverly meant. It was a long time ago, and there were memories that even Wynonna had to take a step back to remember. 

 

“The one that you thought saved you from the car accident?” she asked, making sure she was on the same page. Waverly nodded, but her sister could tell that she wasn’t certain if she believed what was coming out of her own mouth.

 

“When you get back at her place, you two can have your lovers’ quarrel about it,” she tapped the car to indicate that Waverly needed to go soon. She wanted to talk with her about what was going on, but at the same time, Wynonna had her share of this mess to deal with as well. Waverly knew this and didn’t want to keep either of them from getting shit handled.

 

“Text me when you get there, okay? I mean it,” Waverly affirmed she would before starting up the cruiser and pulling out of what used to be the Cunningham’s driveway. Her eyes drifted up to the rear view mirror, Wynonna watching her closely before Waverly had to take the corner towards the highway that would head to the outskirts of town. She couldn’t help then looking down at Nicole as well, as she was slouched forward in the seat as to not put any pressure on the avian protrusions on her back.

 

She looked exhausted, even more so than when they had this same song and dance like with the church. Only this time, Nicole was well aware of what happened and what was happening to her. 

 

Well, that might be debatable.

 

“I-I understand if…” Nicole finally spoke. Her voice was almost cold sounding, the life nearly sucked out of her tone as Waverly figured that sleep might feel like a blessing to her. “I’d understand if you don’t want to be around me. I saw-I saw everything,” she could hear Nicole bite down on that last word. 

 

Waverly knew what she was talking about because they had shared the same flashes of her memories through whatever connection they managed to link themselves to. As bizarre as it was to have someone see your childhood literally flash before their eyes, Waverly was content in knowing that it was Nicole that saw it. Embarrassing, maybe, but she had already dropped a load of her baggage on Nicole in under twenty-four hours.

 

However, she wouldn’t deny that she didn’t feel a twinge of spite when she heard the voice and through the eyes of what she could only assume was the guardian that had been with her since she was only four years old, only to vanish when she and her family needed them the most. But as a girl who also unturned every stone to find the answers to find the truth, Waverly did not see the face nor did she recognize the voice of whoever was part of her memory. On top of that, Nicole was a couple years older than she was. If the guardian had somehow reincarnated itself, there was no way, supernaturally or paranormally that Nicole was that same guardian. 

 

Waverly parked the car on the side of Nicole’s cabin, the drive didn’t seem as long as she thought after the two sat in near awkward silence before the officer managed to gather the will to speak.

 

“Nic, look at me,” Waverly turned around in the driver’s seat to urge Nicole to listen to her. She hesitated, but she reached out to caress her neck, which did not strike the same results as before. Even Nicole’s shoulders dropped in relief while her head lifted to meet hazel eyes.

 

“I would be literally the worst if I avoided you because of...this. You stayed by my side, even when there was a line that couldn’t be distinguished between what was really me and what was the demon that possessed me,” Nicole leaned further forward and rested her head against the side of the driver’s seat. Waverly gently kissed her, her hand grazing the side of Nicole’s face before leaning her head against the officer’s. Nicole gained a bit of motivation from the contact.

 

“Come on, we need to get you cleaned up,” Waverly was hoping that she could get Nicole into the house by herself. Nicole wasn’t that heavy, but with the wings it was like supporting a third person on one side. The rear door suddenly opened before Waverly had a chance to get to it, and Nicole fell off the seat and onto the ground. She landed on her knees and she managed to stay upward by bracing herself against the door.

 

“Nic, careful, don’t overdo it,” Waverly rushed to Nicole’s side and adjusted the officer’s arm over her shoulders. “Okay, on the count of three, I need you to stand and move with me,” She felt Nicole nod against her, and her legs begin to shift to get ready for the count.

 

“One, two, three!” she rose up and Nicole did the same and nearly lost footing as she cried out in pain.

 

“I know baby, I know, come on, you can do this,” Waverly ushered Nicole to start walking. She was mentally patting herself for setting up the cruiser to only be a few steps from the deck, making getting Nicole into the cabin much easier for the both of them.

 

It was hard, but they both managed to make it through the front door. Nicole groaned before falling hard on her knees as her energy was running on empty. Waverly rushed back outside to grab Nicole’s shotgun and shut both doors before returning to Nicole’s barely functioning form sitting in the entryway. 

 

“Nicole, baby are you still with me? Come on…” Waverly shook Nicole's shoulder, the officer not responding to her girlfriend’s pleas. Waverly suddenly began to feel a familiar sense of panic as Nicole's eyes began to shut.

 

 

  
“This is a travesty. What kind of primitive fools would do this? My beautiful Hollowed one, my art, destroyed by a bunch of ignorant peasants!” a loud crash reverberated throughout the corridors as glass and metal smashed against hardwood.

 

“Now, now my beautiful boy. There are many more of your creations being born as we speak. We still have the other two being awoken and will be ready to start harvesting tonight,” a more collected voice spoke.

 

“That prophet had something to do with it, but I can't for the life of me figure out how she did it. There was another human with her as well and somehow both of them lived,” the deranged man thought outloud.

 

“You mentioned this prophet before, why are you so concerned with them? Everything is due as planned, we need not to deal with a few mortals,” there was silence before the man turned to the sophisticated woman standing in the shadows. 

 

“Unacceptable, I need the prophet to complete the final ritual. Father will not acknowledge me until I have brought enough of his company here and captured worthy candidate in his name,” he smiled. 

 

“Whilber...you don’t mean that do you dear? Mommy’s here after all, we can celebrate your return with just the two of us now. Daddy doesn’t need to know what we’ve been up to, besides he is much too busy to be returning to this world,” there was a hint of franticness in the woman’s voice. 

 

“No! No, no, no!” 

 

The woman jumped, her son flipping the table with the creature on it. 

 

There was a low moaning as the wind blew into the cold and drafty study. Awkward glances were exchanged before the woman spoke again, only this time, she didn’t appreciate being intimidated with a tantrum.

 

“Who do you think brought you here? Daddy doesn’t give so much as a thought to your existence. In fact he yawns at it! Everything you have become has been possible because of me so don’t you dare throw another one of your childish fits because something didn’t go your way this time,” She sneered. 

 

“If I don’t get the prophet than I can never be happy again,” the man called Whilber moaned in distress, his mother’s lecture not phasing the man at all.

 

“I warn you, growing conflict with the prophet is not a wise decision. She is powerful and so are her companions,” she warned.

 

“But you banished her Seraphim away didn’t you? Without a guardian, she has no power anymore. You even managed to get rid of Bobo who was the only key into bringing that back as well,” the man exclaimed happily. However, the woman was less than pleased as she was well aware that the boy was not going to listen to her only deterrent.

 

“There are more than just angels that can defeat an elder one. They made sure of that, or have you forgotten everything I taught you?” but her words were in vain, the man was too far gone in whatever fatuous scheme he was planning. She contemplated his revival being a mistake more than a blessing. He was her son, her only son now. Which she was also beginning to regret not reviving him first only to have had him burned alive by Bobo’s lackey’s instead of her first child. That bastard.

 

“Pft, you don’t know what I’m capable of, nobody is. The more Hollowed I bring into this realm, the faster and stronger they become. Each opening becomes larger, making it possible for more energy to be transferred through. I have two Mi-Gohs on my side now, and they should be fully adapted by now. The woman was merely an experiment, and I made the mistake of bringing attention to that poor excuse of the lord’s house,” His grin grew wider.

 

“In that case, I will make sure that they are ready to open up another gate. I’d hoped that the demon would have dealt with the prophet, but she’s a lot harder to corrupt unlike the others before her,” The woman still struggled to understand how the demon was able to be removed from the girl. That was not part of it’s job description faults the last she checked.

 

 

 

She exited the room, leaving the well kept man alone in the study. Black eyes stared down at the mutilated and torched creature as tears began to stream down his cheeks. 

 

“Such beautiful art. Fucking prophets,” He snarled as he too wandered out of the room and down the large hallway of the mansion they acquired. Multiple screams and uncontrollable laughter echoed throughout the abandoned building as the man figured out another way to get the prophet to come to him herself. 

 

Oh how she will pay for this heinous act against him.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys had fun! I have literally no one to talk to about the show so fanfiction is where I turn to for most of it aside from lurking and screaming internally. I do have a tumblr, but I mostly just reblog on it - http://commikaze.tumblr.com/
> 
> Thanks for reading, there will be more to come!


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